{"id":31512,"date":"2026-08-07T21:35:40","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T16:35:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=31512"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:35:40","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T16:35:40","slug":"take-two-ceo-dismisses-grand-theft-auto-vi-physical-disc-concerns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=31512","title":{"rendered":"Take-Two CEO Dismisses Grand Theft Auto VI Physical Disc Concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/consequence.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/take-two-ceo-grand-theft-auto-vi-6-no-discs-comments.jpg?quality=80\" \/><\/p>\n<div data-id=\"1616635\" data-title=\"Take-Two CEO Says \u201cWho Cares\u201d If Gamers Can\u2019t Buy Grand Theft Auto VI Discs\" data-url=\"https:\/\/consequence.net\/2026\/08\/take-two-ceo-grand-theft-auto-vi-physical-discs\/\" data-page=\"1\" data-pages=\"1\">\n<p>Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Rockstar Games parent company Take-Two, has dismissively brushed off questions about the <a href=\"https:\/\/consequence.net\/2026\/06\/grand-theft-auto-6-pre-order-price-editions-bonuses\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">digital-only release<\/a> of <em>Grand Theft Auto VI<\/em>. In a Q&amp;A following the company\u2019s first-quarter 2027 financial release, Zelnick asked, \u201cWho cares?\u201d if customers are forced to download games because discs \u201cdon\u2019t really make sense\u201d for a big title. He also compared physical discs to vinyl distribution.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur business is well over 90% digitally distributed,\u201d Zelnick said, per <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/articles\/take-two-boss-defends-no-disc-version-of-gta-6-equates-physical-releases-to-vinyl-records\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">IGN<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s already a digital business. So in certain instances, especially if it\u2019s a big game, discs just \u2014 and note I said discs \u2014 don\u2019t really make sense for the consumer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Grand-Theft-Auto-VI-PlayStation-Delivers\/dp\/B0H6K928WL?th=1&amp;linkCode=ll2&amp;tag=conseofsound-20&amp;linkId=fa7c874390ac35196be79b07776c240d&amp;language=en_US&amp;gaOptInStatus=true&amp;ref_=as_li_ss_tl\" class=\"button button-ticket\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Buy <em>Grand Theft Auto VI<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<p>He continued, \u201cAlso, [in] most instances you have to register online to play anyhow. So if you\u2019re already connected, who cares if you download digitally? It\u2019s all the same, and it\u2019s much more convenient.<\/p>\n<p>Related Video<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo that\u2019s where the world is going, in our opinion, and I think Sony understands that,\u201d Zelnick added, referring to the recent announcement that physical copies of PlayStation games <a href=\"https:\/\/consequence.net\/2026\/07\/sony-playstation-ending-physical-discs-games-2028\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">will no longer be sold<\/a> beginning in January 2028.\u00a0\u201cWe certainly understand that. It doesn\u2019t mean that we won\u2019t have physical editions now and then; I\u2019m sure we will in the same way that there\u2019s still vinyl in the recorded music business. But in other instances, it just won\u2019t make sense.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite the gamer backlash, going digital-only doesn\u2019t appear to have dampened <em>GTA 6<\/em> sales. Zelnick described the volume of pre-orders as \u201cunprecedented and astonishing,\u201d but admitted that he didn\u2019t know \u201chow it\u2019ll translate into sales.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Pre-orders for <em>GTA 6<\/em> on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Grand-Theft-Auto-VI-PlayStation-Delivers\/dp\/B0H6K928WL?th=1&amp;linkCode=ll2&amp;tag=conseofsound-20&amp;linkId=fa7c874390ac35196be79b07776c240d&amp;language=en_US&amp;gaOptInStatus=true&amp;ref_=as_li_ss_tl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">PS5<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Grand-Theft-Auto-VI-Delivers-Playable\/dp\/B0H6K49W6Y?th=1&amp;linkCode=ll2&amp;tag=conseofsound-20&amp;linkId=1c5efffb11d0bf0241169c0b3e155ade&amp;language=en_US&amp;gaOptInStatus=true&amp;ref_=as_li_ss_tl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Xbox Series X\/S<\/a> launched on June 25th. The standard edition costs $79.99, while the Ultimate Edition is $99.99 and comes with a slew of in-game content.<\/p>\n<p>There are several issues with Zelnick\u2019s argument, not the least of which is the amount of storage that AAA titles like\u00a0<em>Grand Theft Auto 6<\/em> increasingly take up. This means larger downloads, which pose\u00a0a major obstacle for gamers with an internet data cap, and worse yet, discourage those who can only afford or have access to slower download speeds.<\/p>\n<p>Not only that, it\u2019s almost a given that major music releases will be available on vinyl from huge artists like Taylor Swift, BTS, and Olivia Rodrigo. CD sales are <a href=\"https:\/\/consequence.net\/2026\/07\/the-cd-revival-is-getting-hard-to-ignore\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">also growing<\/a>, according to Luminate\u2019s 2026 Midyear Report. Despite albums being available on streaming, fans want to own physical copies, too.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s also true for video games, where the large majority may be satisfied with digital downloads, but the most loyal fans look forward to owning physical discs.<\/p>\n<p>But the greatest concern from a digital-only future comes from the constant reminder that gamers are only buying a license for games and other content from companies like Sony. On September 1st, 551 film and TV titles will be removed from the PlayStation Store. Last month, a policy resurfaced allowing Sony to <a href=\"https:\/\/consequence.net\/2026\/07\/playstation-three-year-game-deletion-policy-inactivity\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">close a PlayStation account<\/a> after three years of inactivity, thus removing games and other purchases attached to it.<\/p>\n<p>Zelnick\u2019s comments come after Sony CFO Lin Tao confirmed the company will <a href=\"https:\/\/consequence.net\/2026\/07\/sony-ending-playstation-discs-2028-community-backlash\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u201ccautiously\u201d move forward<\/a> with phasing out PlayStation discs despite backlash from gamers. \u201cThere are various reasons we made this decision, the biggest being that the digitalization of content overall has been progressing, that\u2019s the big factor,\u201d Tao said. \u201cIt\u2019s not just for PlayStation, but for all kinds of content, digitalization is progressing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As we\u2019ve written about time and time again, Sony and its competitors have been moving in a digital-only direction for quite some time. The $899 PlayStation 5 Pro does not have a built-in disc drive, and an increasing number of Switch 2 \u201ccartridges\u201d actually function as key cards to unlock game downloads. While Microsoft\u2019s high-end Xbox Series X does come with a drive, the company will likely move away from physical discs soon enough.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this week, Rockstar announced that an \u201cextended look\u201d at the highly anticipated game will <a href=\"https:\/\/consequence.net\/2026\/08\/grand-theft-auto-vi-netflix\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">premiere on Netflix<\/a> on Thursday, August 27th at 3:00 p.m. ET.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n\t\t!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n\t\tn.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;\n\t\tn.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=1;\n\t\tt.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,\n\t\tdocument,'script','https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n\t\tfbq('init', '1753966171496536');\n\t\tfbq('set','agent','tmgoogletagmanager', '1753966171496536');\n\t\tfbq('track', \"PageView\");\n\t<\/script><script defer crossorigin=\"anonymous\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js#xfbml=1&#038;version=v7.0&#038;appId=434175690014\" nonce=\"6gwmbCtM\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Rockstar Games parent company Take-Two, has dismissively brushed off questions about the digital-only release of Grand Theft Auto VI. In a Q&amp;A following the company\u2019s first-quarter 2027 financial release, Zelnick asked, \u201cWho cares?\u201d if customers are forced to download games because discs \u201cdon\u2019t really make sense\u201d for a big title. He&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31513,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/consequence.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/take-two-ceo-grand-theft-auto-vi-6-no-discs-comments.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31512","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsweek-trending"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31512","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31512"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31512\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/31513"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31512"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31512"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31512"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}