As a PC Gamer Who Hasn’t Bought a Disc in a Decade, I Think PlayStation All-Digital Future Was a Long Time Coming – but There Are Still Reasons To Be Wary

Game discs have taken a one-two punch over the last couple of weeks: first Rockstar’s announcement that the biggest game launch of the decade won’t include a physical release, then Sony laying out plans to stop making discs for PlayStation consoles by January 2028. Backlash has been fierce, but it’s hard to imagine either company u-turning – the discless future is on its way, whether we like it or not. For gamers on PC, however, that future is already the present. A desktop has long been my main gaming machine, and frankly I can’t remember the last time I bought a disc – it’s been a while since I’ve even had a drive to slot one into. For over a decade, discless has been the blanket status quo on PC. While that has come with problems, overall the platform is thriving more than ever, with most players now deeply loyal to dominant digital storefront Steam. Does that mean a digital future for consoles is all going to be a-ok? Well… maybe. Let’s look back at the history of discless gaming on PC – and what it tells us about where things will go from here. When Steam first launched in 2003, it was not warmly received. Many players saw it as unnecessary digital rights management (DRM), que