Strauss Zelnick Defends Sony and Says “Discs Don't Make Sense to the Consumer”

One of the summer's most controversial announcements was Sony's decision to stop releasing games on discs entirely starting in 2028, shifting fully to digital distribution. That sparked a lot of outrage among users, and some are still not over it. However, according to Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick, it's the right, logical move.

The company recently released updated financial results, and shortly after, Zelnick took part in a Q&A session. As reported by IGN, Take-Two's CEO believes the future belongs to digital distribution and claimed there's currently no real need for physical discs. He also pointed out that 90% of the company's sales are already digital, making it the more convenient, preferred option. You can check out Zelnick's full comments on this below:

“Our business is well over 90% digitally distributed. 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.

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.

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.”

Capcom made a similar point earlier, confirming that moving away from physical discs isn't a problem for the studio, since 90% of its sales are digital already—which is exactly why Zelnick's comments track. However, there's an interesting detail with GTA 6 related to this. It was recently revealed Japanese owners will have only 170 days to activate their game key, after which it becomes invalid. That obviously wouldn't be an issue if GTA 6 were sold on discs—but Take-Two seemingly doesn’t care.

In other news, Rockstar Games announced new GTA 6 footage— Grand Theft Auto VI: An Extended Look —will premiere on Netflix August 27, landing on the studio's own platforms just a few hours later. Meanwhile, in the financial report, Zelnick also claimed that GTA 6 pre-orders are "unprecedented and astonishing."

Grand Theft Auto VI: An Extended Look premieres on Netflix August 27 at 3 p.m. ET. You can also check out how and when to watch this major event. The game releases November 19 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.