GTA VI goes digital-only as gaming industry nears Iwata’s 2009 forecast

Rockstar Games’ 2026 announcement that Grand Theft Auto VI will be released digital-only, with no physical copies, fits a shift toward digital game distribution that late Nintendo president Satoru Iwata forecast during a 2009 investor meeting.

Iwata predicted at the time that the industry would move gradually toward digital purchases rather than abandoning physical retail overnight. “It will require many years and months for the majority of video game purchase to become digital,” he said, adding, “in 20 years or so, I might say it will have probably changed. But in 5 years or so, I do not totally agree with opinions that no one will purchase titles at retailers by then.”

Sony has also reportedly said it will stop producing physical PlayStation 5 discs starting in 2028, a decision that prompted renewed attention to Iwata’s remarks, which resurfaced on Reddit after being shared in an earlier Kotaku report.

Not every platform is moving the same way: Xbox has not announced plans to discontinue physical discs, although some recent releases ship with little game data stored on the disc, and Microsoft’s rumoured Project Helix hardware may lack a disc drive. Nintendo, meanwhile, has introduced resellable Game-Key Cards that function as physical licence keys rather than full game storage.