Rockstar Games co-founder and former Grand Theft Auto lead writer Dan Houser believes publishers should continue offering physical games so long as customers still want them, having said as much in a recent interview. However, he is not particularly concerned about the decline of physical media, arguing that major publishers like Rockstar have a very good reason to embrace digital distribution.
July 25 marked one month since GTA 6 pre-orders opened with two standalone editions and zero discs between them. The $99.99 Ultimate Edition is available only digitally, while the Standard Edition technically has a physical option, but only in the form of a download code in a box. Rockstar has not yet clarified whether a true physical edition may arrive after launch. Days after the digital-only release strategy reignited debate over physical media being on its last legs, Sony announced that it would stop manufacturing physical copies of new PlayStation games in January 2028.
Dan Houser Says Physical Games Should Remain an Option
The ever-livelier debate over the concerning future of physical game media reached the 2026 San Diego Comic-Con, where Rockstar Games co-founder Dan Houser discussed the issue in a recent IGN interview. Asked whether he wanted his upcoming projects to receive physical editions, Houser said he did. “If people want that, I think companies should provide it,” the industry veteran said. However, he acknowledged that he personally no longer feels strongly about maintaining access to physical releases.
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Blair Campbell
Former Rockstar producer Lazlow Jones, best known to fans as the inspiration for the GTA character who shares his name, also participated in the SDCC 2026 interview. He expressed a stronger attachment to physical media than Houser, citing the familiar experience of inserting a disc into a console after buying a new game. However, Jones also praised the convenience of downloading games while traveling, a key advantage of digital distribution. Houser similarly described the ability to patch games easily after launch as “critical,” though physical editions can also receive post-launch updates. Regardless, the former GTA lead writer asserted that consumers by and large “love” digital releases.
Find the odd one out before the timer hits zero.
GTA 6 Arrives Just Before PlayStation Starts Phasing Out New Discs
GTA 6 will be the first mainline installment released after Jones and Houser left Rockstar in 2020. As things currently stand, it may also become the series’ first-ever mainline entry to skip a physical console release altogether. While Rockstar has officially ruled out a disc edition materializing post-launch, Sony’s planned January 2028 cutoff leaves GTA 6 with a narrow window of opportunity to get a physical PlayStation release.
Beginning in 2028, Sony will stop offering disc production for new PlayStation games while continuing to fulfill publisher orders for older PS4 and PS5 titles that already have physical editions. The move has drawn vocal criticism from consumers, which had not fully waned four weeks later, as of late July 2026. The manufacturing capacity freed up as a result of dropped physical game support is planned to be redirected to optical microlens production.
Source: Insider Gaming
