Discs ‘don’t really make sense for the consumer’ says Take-Two boss on GTA 6’s digital launch

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has said that discs “don’t really make sense for the consumer” in an investor Q&A.

Take-Two is the parent company of Rockstar, the developer of the Grand Theft Auto series. The announcement that the upcoming GTA 6 would be digital-only was met with uproar from fans.

“Our business is well over 90% digitally distributed,” Zelnick said in the Q&A, as spotted by IGN. “It’s already a digital business. So in certain instances, especially if it’s a big game, discs just — and note I said discs — don’t really make sense for the consumer.

“Also, most instances you have to register online to play anyhow. So if you’re already connected, who cares if you download digitally? It’s all the same and it’s much more convenient.

“So that’s where the world is going in our opinion and I think Sony understands that. We certainly understand that. It doesn’t mean that we won’t have physical additions now and then, I’m sure we will in the same way that there’s still vinyl in the recorded music business. But in other instances, it just won’t make sense.”

The announcement that GTA 6 would not be available in a physical format was followed up by Sony announcing that PS5 game discs would no longer be produced for games launching after January 2028.

Sony later confirmed “we’re going to cautiously move this forward,” when asked about the decision during a Q&A. Now, PS5 boxes are appearing with warning labels explaining the disc situation.

An ‘extended look’ at GTA 6 is premiering on Netflix later this month.

Take-Two has reiterated that it predicts $8 billion in net bookings in fiscal year 2027 thanks to GTA 6.