GTA 6 publisher Take-Two asks 'who cares' in update on physical media

Grand Theft Auto VI won’t launch with a disc in the box, but instead a digital download code. In its recent earnings call, Take-Two Interactive delivered the update we all dreaded.

Today Take-Two Interactive addressed its shareholders, the day after it was announced that GTA VI is getting an Extended Look via Netflix later this month.

Fan reactions to that news were a mixture of excitement and disappointment, as locking a reveal behind a subscription service is pretty irritating. However, the backlash was nowhere near as severe as when it was confirmed earlier this year that physical editions of GTA VI would feature a code-in-box rather than a disc.

Many turned to today’s earning call for a comment on the backlash, but it wasn’t news we wanted to hear.

Take-Two CEO delivers bad news on GTA 6 and beyond

As shared by CharlieIntel, Take-Two’s CEO Strauss Zelnick said: "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.”

Zelnick continued: “Also, most instances you have to register online to play anyhow. So if you're already connected, who cares if you download digitally? It's all the same and it's much more convenient.”

The debate between physical vs digital has come about after Sony announced it’d end disc production from 2028 onwards, even slapping a new warning label on PlayStation 5 consoles to prove it’s serious.

At Sony’s earnings call, the CFO said the decision had been “cautiously” considered, and will be executed “cautiously” regardless of what consumers think of it.

Zelnick spoke about this decision, saying: “So that's where the world is going in our opinion and I think Sony understands that. 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.”

So, GTA VI definitely won’t be released on disc. It also sounds like equally massive projects from Rockstar Games won’t be released on discs either. Sad news for those hoping another Red Dead Redemption game is on the way next.

Obviously we need to take that with a pinch of salt as Zelnick’s wording was carefully cautious, and there’s every chance other games published by the company will be produced on disc and digital.

It’s not great news, but unfortunately it’s news most gamers will have expected given recent events.

Now all eyes are on Xbox, which is yet to confirm whether its next-gen console will be digital-only, or support existing disc collections.

The future of gaming is looking increasingly bleak. We’ve seen the damage digital-only games can do to consumers such as the recent Xbox blackout, and many are planning to start voting with their wallets to show their disdain.

Others are weighing up other options, such as moving their gaming experience to PC. However, even that is looking like a rough option given the increasing cost of components.