Digital Codes Cost More Than Physical Media

Freelance video games journalist Vic Hood said the price tag for the standard edition was "fairly reasonable" but said the lack of disc may "irk some physical collectors". However, she added the decision made sense from Rockstar's point of view, "as it reduces the amount of rebuying and reselling and helps prevent leaks". The game itself - which some analysts say could be the most expensive ever made - will be released on 19 November on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S.

While DVD-like boxes are common in the current generation of gaming, the original cardboard packaging used for past cartridge-based games is scarce, as they were often discarded by the original owner of the game.

Of course, physical games also need this infrastructure in modern times, to allow for patches. However, in most cases, these updates are optional and still represent a smaller cost than serving full games as a first-line sales channel.

So while the process of purchasing a game digitally is becoming more popular by the day, the cost of the game is not decreasing nor usually matching that of its physical incarnation.

For PlayStation 5 on the PlayStation 5, a GameFAQs message board topic titled "Why are digital games more expensive than physical?".

The only exception is really cheap game discs which it sometimes makes sense to ship in a hard cardboard sleeve to save on postage. First Class Flat/Large Envelope Dimension Requirements: Length (Max): 15 inches Height (Max): 12 inches Thickness (Max): 3/4 inch Weight (Max): 4 lbs Cost: $2.30-$19 Trackable · Again, thickness will be the limiting dimension for Large Envelope service. 3/4 inch is still pretty thin. Some video games will qualify as Large Envelopes if packaged correctly.

So third-party console publishers get around 50% of the full price of a physical game. First-party publishers need to calculate with around 5% for manufacturing and shipping the physical media in addition to the retailer cut – leaving Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo with around 65% of the full price.

Remedy first claimed this was happening because of the reduced purchasing price (see question #6). Games cost $69.99 on average now, but Alan Wake 2 will come at $59.99 on consoles and $49.99 on PC through the Epic Games Store.

The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X are the first living-room video game consoles to have all-digital versions at launch. That means no discs to fiddle with, and is a lower price tag—at first.