Elite co-author: gamers will refuse to buy physical copies of games in the next 3 years

COVID-19 has brought the moment when games will no longer be sold at retail. This opinion was expressed by Frontier Developments CEO David Braben.

David Braben
He quotes Gamesindustry.biz .

Braben believes that the pandemic has accelerated the industry’s transition to exclusively digital distribution of games.

Quarantine has forced players to buy more games through online distributors (Steam, EGS, PS Store, etc.). Digital sales have soared even for PS4 and Xbox One, although their lifespan is coming to an end.

“And that’s good,— Braben said. “I think in the next two or three years we will more or less move away from physical distribution.”

Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Take-Two, partly agrees with him. He also believes that the coronavirus will strengthen the position of digital stores. Nevertheless, Zelnik does not believe that physical retail will disappear completely, and does not want it.

At the same time, analytical companies such as NPD and GfK show that in April, physical sales in the US and the UK, on the contrary, increased sharply. And in the first weeks of quarantine, the British swept more than 1 million boxes of games off the shelves. But in March, sales of physical copies in Spain and Italy seriously sank.

Braben also noted another positive impact of COVID-19 on the industry. More and more investors see it as a reliable industry capable of producing content remotely and increasing revenue even in turbulent times.

“Historically, during recessions, our industry and, oddly enough, alcohol are always on the rise. After all, they belong to cheap types of entertainment. Gamedev is a reliable port (for investors) during a storm,” Braben added.

Also on the topic:

• GamesIndustry: Game sales jumped at least 44% as a result of the spread of coronavirusThe British swept 1 million boxes of video games off the shelves in three weeks of quarantine
• Is there any news?