Earlier this month, PlayStation announced that it would end production of physical video game discs in a few years. This led to a lot of shouting, calls to boycott the company, and more. And the devs behind last year’s hit game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 recently explained that while they understand the “business” reasons for the decision, it is still “a shame” that discs are going away.
In a new interview with Automaton, as part of a larger post-mortem event, some devs from Clair Obscur studio Sandfall talked about last year’s indie (?) super hit. But the team was also asked about the recent news that PlayStation was ending physical disc production of new video games starting in 2028. For them, it’s sad news as they find physical games to be “special” and important to players.
“Personally, I find it super sad because I really like video game stores,” said creative director Guillaume Broche. “And even if nowadays, I play mainly on PC myself, we have a lot of people on the team who play on PS5 and love to collect physical discs. I think it’s part of the beauty of art too—that it’s something tangible that you can touch. I completely appreciate that people want to have their rows of DVDs and games and just feel that they own them. So I think it’s a shame.”
Broche added that while it makes sense “business-wise,” in terms of the “artistry of video games, it’s a sad decision.”
Sandfall co-founder and CTO Tom Guillermin shared an interesting story regarding Expedition 33‘s own physical edition. Before the release of the game, there were discussions about not doing a physical release. Physical releases add more complications to the process of making and selling a video game, and cutting it can save a lot of money. But for Sandfall, it sounds like it was never a real option. Guillermin said that “physical was something special” for the studio, and that the team wanted players to be able to “hold [the game] in their hands.”
“So even though it made things harder and meant less money per unit,” said Guillermin, “it was important for us to provide players who want to have the physical game in their hands with an option. Because that’s what we value as players too.”
The devs also shared that walking into a store and seeing physical copies of their game made it feel “real.” And that was true of other games, not just their own.
“Knowing that may not be possible again makes me a bit sad,” said lead character and concept artist Alan Reynaud. “And maybe it’s the child in me, but I like to go outside, buy a game, and come back home with it. It’s a nice feeling.”
“I think the same principle can apply to manga. It’s nice to read on your phone and stuff, but having a real book is just a different feeling. And I don’t think we could imagine a world where manga is just scanned and stored on your computer. It would be sad to not have it in your library. I think the same applies for games. Sure, it makes more sense business-wise, but you lose the spirit of it.”
The Sandfall team isn’t alone in their love of physical media and their concerns for what it could mean for the future. But it seems extremely unlikely that Sony changes its plans at this point, especially when you consider how few physical games are sold compared to digital. The all-digital future is coming, and unfortunately it doesn’t seem like Sony or Xbox are ready for it. You can read more of Automaton‘s interview with the Expedition 33 team here.
