Strauss Zelnick has an explanation for why the absence of a GTA 6 disc shouldn’t upset anyone, and it starts in the record shop.
The Take-Two chief fielded a question about Rockstar’s decision to forgo a physical edition of its next game during an analyst Q&A held after the company posted its Q1 2027 financials. He sidestepped commenting on Sony’s plan to wind down physical disc production for PlayStation titles starting in 2028. His stance on GTA 6, though, left no room for interpretation.
Discs, in his words, “don’t really make sense for the consumer.”
The math he’s working from
“Our business is well over 90% digitally distributed,” Zelnick said. “It’s already a digital business. So in certain instances, especially if it’s a big game, discs just — and note I said discs — don’t really make sense for the consumer.”
That aside matters. Zelnick is separating the disc as a means of delivery from physical editions as collectible objects, and he wants that distinction registered.
His second point is the one likely to land hardest with anyone who has attempted to boot up a modern game on an offline console.
“Also, most instances you have to register online to play anyhow,” he said. “So if you’re already connected, who cares if you download digitally? It’s all the same and it’s much more convenient.”
Enter the vinyl comparison
Then arrived the comparison that’s likely to trail him for some time.
“So that’s where the world is going in our opinion and I think Sony understands that,” Zelnick said. “We certainly understand that. It doesn’t mean that we won’t have physical additions now and then, I’m sure we will in the same way that there’s still vinyl in the recorded music business. But in other instances, it just won’t make sense.”
Parse that closely. Discs aren’t what he’s committing to. What he’s committing to is their shelf-display counterpart — the item you purchase because owning an object appeals to you, not because it’s the route to installing the game. Vinyl endured not as a format, but as a memento.
Sony isn’t budging either
Sony ended its silence on scrapping PlayStation discs last week, stating the move isn’t hurting its business at present and that it anticipates no negative effects down the road. Company executives have signaled there will be no reversal, even as they acknowledged the “strong views” coming from the gaming community.
“Strong views” undersells what’s unfolding. Petitions are circulating online and PlayStation’s social media posts are being flooded with complaints about ownership and preservation — so thoroughly that unrelated new game announcements are getting drowned out entirely.
Advocates for physical media have escalated further, organizing a week-long PlayStation boycott in August to make clear that eliminating discs from 2028 won’t fly.
The retailers have opinions too
Players aren’t the only ones objecting. In the UK, the Digital Entertainment and Retail Association branded Sony’s choice “a triumph of corporate convenience over consumer choice.”
Zelnick’s response to the whole affair amounts to a shrug with a spreadsheet behind it. Once 90% of your business already flows without a disc, the disc ceases to be a distribution matter and turns into a merchandising one.
That’s the unspoken half of the vinyl analogy. Records did return, no argument. They returned at $40 each, pressed in limited quantities, and sold to listeners who were already streaming the album.