Microsoft has no plans to do away with physical game discs and force an all-digital gaming future.

View gallery – 2 images
Digital has been on the rise since the Gen8 era, with digital access and distribution now accounting for the majority of annual video game revenue (while Nintendo makes more money from physical game sales than from digital game sales). An unusual company that is profitable)…but not by much).
To further advance this market, both Sony and Microsoft are making blatant attempts to shift consumer behavior towards digital by releasing low-cost consoles without disk drives. The ploy seems to have worked, as all current PlayStation 5 consoles are digital by default. Microsoft is also thought to release a digital-only Xbox Series X this fall.
Following reports that Starfield had been removed from Walmart stores, gamers were concerned that Microsoft might simply stop selling physical discs in stores. This could reduce costs and improve profit margins for gaming businesses, and many retailers simply sell gaming cards without displaying too many games. How long will it take for the game to disappear completely?
According to Xbox Games CEO Phil Spencer, removing disc-based games from store shelves is not part of the plan.
“…Our strategy doesn’t depend on people moving all digitally. And getting rid of the physical is not strategic for us.” Phil Spencer told Game File’s Stephen Totilo (Subscribe) here).
“While we support physical media, there is no need to promote physical media that is disproportionate to customer demand.
“We ship games physically and digitally, but we’re really just following customer behavior. And our job in running Xbox is to do what the vast majority of customers want. We think it’s about delivering what the majority of our customers want right now. Our customers are buying games digitally.”
Of the Big Three, an all-digital future could benefit Microsoft the most. The company is focused on digital services, with Xbox Game Pass now the core foundation of its online-driven subscription service infrastructure.