News - Goodbye Discs: Digital Game Sales Continue To Grow At PlayStation, As Well As
Sony has confirmed that it will no longer support physical discs for PlayStation games--for first- and third-party games--starting in January 2028. Many are wondering why, and it likely has to do with steep declines in physical software sales at the gaming giant. And it's not just Sony that's seeing major declines in physical, disc-based games--many other publishers are as well. It's part of a wider trend of people increasingly buying games digitally, for convenience and other reasons.
Niko Partners analyst Daniel Ahmad has reminded people that while physical software is not a dead market--almost 70 million new disc-based PlayStation games were sold in 2025--but the shift toward digital keeps growing.
"Having a retail presence is still important for many publishers, but it's clear that doesn't always need to a disc, and won't be going forward," he said.
"So as much as rising digital share is a market trend, the decision to stop physical disc production at this point is entirely a platform led decision that is designed to cut costs for Sony, eliminate resale / used markets, and drive 100% of revenue through the PlayStation Store," he added.
No more discs for PlayStation games.
80% digital at PlayStation
When the PS4 launched, less than 10% of game sales were digital. For the latest fiscal year, it rose to about 80% of full-game sales being digital for PlayStation.
93% digital at Capcom
Earlier this year, Japanese publisher Capcom--known for Resident Evil and Monster Hunter--reported that a whopping 93% of its game sales were digital. That compares to 75% just a few years prior. Capcom said it predicts that its percentage of digital sales will grow in next year.
Electronic Arts is seeing a big shift, too
Electronic Arts, one of the biggest publishers of games in the world, is seeing increased share for digital game sales compared to physical. For EA's latest reporting period, full-game downloads amounted to $528 million, compared to $81 million for "packaged goods."
Nintendo is selling more digital games
For Nintendo's latest fiscal year, the company said digital game sales were up 25% year-over-year, "mainly due to an increase in sales of downloadable versions of packaged software." Digital sales grew by 1.1 points to make up 54.6% of total software sales for the fiscal year.
Sony killing off physical discs for PlayStation games might make business sense, but it's also a big bummer for many who wanted to keep buying physical games. It also has sparked game-preservation concerns.
Sony's official explanation is that it's doing this "in response to shifting trends in consumer preference."
"This is a natural direction for Sony Interactive Entertainment to adapt to consumer trends as the general preference for digital media significantly outpaces physical discs," the company said. "This transition will enable us to align more closely with how most of our community prefers to access and play games today."
News - Surprise Mario Kart World Update Ends A Drought Of New Content
Despite being the Switch 2's leading launch game, Mario Kart World hasn't gotten much in terms of proper new content. But update 1.7.0 just dropped for the game, and it adds two Knockout Tour routes for players to burn rubber on.
The Drill Rally starts at Wario Shipyard and ends in Bowser's Castle, while the Boomerang Rally extends from Salty Salty Speedway to Whistlestop Summit. Nintendo's website mentions that additional routes will be added in future updates, and the game's menu indicates that six more are on the way.
Mind you, there aren't any new tracks or expansions to the open world included in this new update, but the addition of new Knockout Tour routes signals that Nintendo isn't done with the game yet.
As a bonus, Mario Kart World's photo mode now lets you add stickers to your pictures, with touchscreen and mouse support sure to make sticker placement even easier. Other changes in version 1.7.0 include changes to item rates and other gameplay adjustments.
Previous Mario Kart World updates include the addition of Bob-omb Blast, but this is probably the most substantial content drop for the Switch 2's best-selling game yet. The Mario Kart World community on Reddit appears quite excited to have received anything, to be frank.
Fans were convinced last year that DLC based on Donkey Kong Bananza was inevitable, but there's been no hint of such an update. At least with this patch for Mario Kart World, hope for more tracks, costumes, and such can race on.
Let’s Rank What Matters Most In Mario Kart World: The Food
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News - Splatoon Raiders Takes A Page From Monster Hunter To Boost Your Co-Op Chances
The Splatoon Raiders Direct outlined the structure of the upcoming single-player-focused title, and it looks packed with challenging encounters against hordes of Salmonids. If any raids get a little too punishing, an online feature will lend solo players support in a way that recalls modern Monster Hunter games.
As detailed in Nintendo's video presentation, you can send out a call for help before beginning a raid--other players can select a "Go Help" option on the map to be matched with another player seeking help and join their lobby.
Failing a raid results in players losing all the loot they collected in that session, but succeeding will give the helper a "help bonus" in the form of "nifty in-game rewards." If the raid is successful, there will be a cooldown period before you can call for help again.
It's not unlike the SOS Flare mechanic from Monster Hunter World (and Monster Hunter Wilds). The big difference here is that in Monster Hunter, your player character will quite literally shoot up a flare in-game during a quest instead of calling for help from a menu.
Of course, Splatoon Raiders lets you team up with up to three other players through online or local wireless play, but difficulty will scale depending on the number of players. GameSpot's preview of Splatoon Raiders observed how players' different builds can synergize with each other, and said that "multiplayer seems like a fertile ground for high-level raids against tough opponents."
News - A Developer Said No To Baldur’s Gate 4 Because Following BG3 Would Be “In
Following the enormous critical and commercial success of Larian's Baldur's Gate 3, the studio passed on making Baldur's Gate 4 to produce a new Divinity instead. A fourth Baldur's Gate game is as close to a sure thing as possible, but who will make it? That remains to be seen, but Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast pitched one of its studios, Archetype Entertainment--and they said no as well.
Archetype is headed by James Ohlen and Kevin Martens, both of whom were co-lead designers on Baldur's Gate 2. Hasbro CEO Chris Cox called Ohlen after learning that Larian was passing on Baldur's Gate 4 to ask if he would do it.
"He called me. 'Hey James, what do you think about doing Baldur's Gate 4?' And I was like, 'I don't, I would fail, and here's why I would fail,'" he told PC Gamer.
He said he would not want to compete with Larian's legacy. He said working on Archetype's current project, Exodus, was hard enough. "Having to compete against Baldur's Gate 3? That would be insanity," he said.
Part of what made Baldur's Gate 3 special was that it was built on Larian's own engine. Ohlen said it would "at least half a decade of horror" to build a new version for Baldur's Gate 4. Ohlen said he asked Cox if Larian could license its engine for Baldur's Gate 4, but even if this was possible, Ohlen said Baldur's Gate 4 would still lack the special sauce of being made at Larian.
He said Larian CEO Swen Vincke is "always going to be the master of building those kinds of things. It's really hard to take him off that throne, just because of everything—the tools, institutional knowledge, team."
Baldur's Gate 3 sold more than 20 million copies and won multiple Game of the Year awards. Given that, Larian has said it feels "more pressure" to deliver with Divinity.
News - Marvel Tokon’s Deadpool Is Full Of Obscure References, Just Like You’d Ho
Ahead of its launch in August, Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls' final team of multiversal brawlers was revealed at Evo 2026. Dubbed the Samurai Outriders, this team includes Blade, Loki, Ghost Rider, and everyone's favorite chatterbox antihero, Deadpool. As you'd expect, Deadpool is pure chaos, but he's also a walking tribute to fighting games from across multiple series. As part of his character, Deadpool has somehow obtained a game strategy guide from beyond the fourth wall, allowing him to use attacks from other games in combat.
While the reveal trailer only shared some of Deadpool's gameplay, the references ranged from anime poses to an incredibly obscure PlayStation Easter egg.
First up, yes, Deadpool is indeed doing the infamous Naruto run:
Guilty Gear Strive players will likely recognize this Jack-O pose:
Did the Hulk break Deadpool's $500 sunglasses? Because that sure looks like Johnny Cage's signature attack from Mortal Kombat:
Speaking of Mortal Kombat, get over here and look at this move from the Scorpion playbook:
Toasty!
What's the point in having an advanced healing factor if you don't use it to poke fun at Tekken with a Yoshimitsu-inspired Hara-Kiri attack? This could also be a reference to Deadpool & Wolverine, as the first meeting between the fan-favorite Marvel characters wasn't exactly cordial.
What will Dr. Doom say when he sees Deadpool use one of his aerial stomp-attacks from the Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 days?
And then there's this move, which resembles Vegeta's Consecutive Energy Blast barrage from Dragon Ball FighterZ. Deadpool even drops an infamous Moon Knight quip about resorting to random bulls**t attacks. One of the random objects thrown out is the original PlayStation mascot--and PlayStation All Stars Battle Royale final boss--Mr. Polygon Man:
We're also treated to Deadpool riffing on Guilty Gear some more with a burning Sol Badguy uppercut:
May's forward-charge Mr. Dolphin attack:
And Lady Deadpool uses Jam's Ryuujin Kick during Deadpool's ultimate, which also looks like it was inspired by a Persona team attack:
She also strikes a Sailor Moon pose afterward, and yes, it's adorable:
And finally, that is Nolan North voicing Deadpool once again. The veteran actor has provided his voice in several Marvel games, including the 2014 Deadpool game, Marvel's Midnight Suns, and Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3.
Sony has also confirmed that a Marvel Tokon open beta will start on July 24, and Blade will be playable in it. The fighting game launches on August 6 for PC and PS5, and if you're looking to start building your dream team, you can check out our list of every Marvel Tokon character in the launch roster.
Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls Roster – Every Character Revealed (So Far)
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