As Sony inches ever closer to a future where it permanently halts the production of PlayStation discs and as GTA 6 prepares to ship without a true physical version at all, Rockstar Games and Grand Theft Auto co-founder, Dan Houser, has some thoughts about the physical versus digital games debate.
The former GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2 lead developer - who also had a hand in several more Rockstar classics - was recently asked about the topic at San Diego Comic-Con 2026. His thoughts? Houser isn't personally enthusiastic about physical games shipping on discs, but he doesn't see why companies should stop making them altogether.
"I don't know that I care, but if people want that, I think companies should provide it," Houser tells IGN in an interview at SDCC. "But I don't know that I personally care."
He also acknowledges that people sure are critical of digital games, but from a developer's perspective, "the ability to update and fix problems in games has been really useful for the quality of games."
The future of physical games are on a lot of peoples' minds right now after PlayStation announced plans to axe PlayStation disc production starting in 2028. That means new games that come out past that point won't get true physical editions on PlayStation hardware - it also means your ability to lend, borrow, sell, and truly own the games you pay for is seriously constricted. An ironic demonstration of how our all-digital future could go very wrong happened this week, when The PlayStation Network almost went down and stopped waves of people from downloading or even playing their digital library.
Also speaking to IGN, former Rockstar veteran Lazlow Jones chimed in, too: "We all have that sort of feeling when you get that copy, and you put the disc in the console, but I also have to say I really like being at the airport and going, 'Oh, cool. I can download some quick games to my Steam Deck for this 12-hour flight.'"
Jones and Houser are now both working at Absurd Ventures, a company making multiple multimedia projects, including an upcoming AAA open-world game and a new comic book. Jones says that's "a different creative process but also just really fulfilling to have a physical thing you can say, 'Look. We made a thing.'"
"I love physical media," Houser adds.
PlayStation killing discs is bad for everyone, whether you care about physical games or not
