I feel it's kind of a dilemma since Sony might have justified business reasons, but gamers who prefer physical are, to put it mildly, not amused. There are also things to be said about game ownership and license to play games as well, and I feel that debate can go on forever.

Honestly, I think the issue with physical disc is really treating the symptom, not the actual disease. The main issue we're seeing is that the players aren't buying a game, they're buying a license to use software and the license generally does not cover what happens when the publisher decides to pull the plug. Even if the physical disc had all of the game data on it at launch, it wouldn't stop the same problems with requiring PSN accounts to play the games or locking certain features behind an authenticated account.

In essence, what really needs to happen is that ownership of digital products (beyond games) really needs some kind of legal established set of user rights - (potentially) including the ability to transfer those rights to other people. Maybe that would include certain limitations like only the base version of the game being transferable to another person, but that's the kind of core set of digital consumer rights that should be ironed out.

It goes far beyond physical media and goes to the heart of the matter - what do we actually own? What should we be able to own as people? What's a reasonable scope for the software companies to provide long term? I don't think that it's reasonable to expect software companies to support and offer game data until the heat-death of the universe, so it has to end sometime... so how long and what kind of scope would that be for both consumer and producer to agree is acceptable and sustainable for everyone involved? If we can answer that, it wouldn't matter whether game data is on a physical disc or not.

[Join us on Discord] and/or [Support us on Patreon]

Got a burning question you want answered?

Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter

Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on BlueSky

Long questions: Ask a Game Dev on Tumblr

Onward (2020, Dan Scanlon)

You’re not buying an actual physical product with digital distribution. You’re buying a license to download said product.

Sure, it might not seem like much of a difference, but what about when that particular service is discontinued? If you can’t download the product anymore, then the money you spent on it was wasted.

And what about stuff that’s only available digitally? Remember this game?

It was a fun beat ‘em up released for Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network to tie in with the 2010 film adaptation of Scott Pilgrim, and had both high quality spritework and a kick ass chiptune soundtrack.

It was pulled from both services in December 2014, due to Ubisoft deciding not to renew the Scott Pilgrim license. There was no announcement, no warning, the game was just removed from both storefronts and rendered permanently unavailable to anybody who hadn’t already purchased it.

And because it was digital only, there are no physical copies to purchase second hand. There is literally no legal way to obtain a copy of this game. Your only options are piracy or emulation, neither of which are really ideal.

Unearthed Distribution Playlist w/c 4th May 2018

I recently found this chart on Reddit by u/Molotovn displaying the titles released by Valve since 2004 when Half Life 2 came out among the popularity of the FPS genre for PC games. Back in that period the publishing of the sequel to  Half Life raised the bar for many other game developers not only in terms of aesthetics, but also for the experience the gameplay would offer.

Valve has a unique history that defies any other game developers in terms of name content but also on its major controversy of sequel spawn. Gamers have been waiting since 2007 for a Half Life 2 sequel in the shape of a episode installment or stand-alone title. 

Meanwhile Valve has published other titles like Portal, Team Fortress 2, Left 4 Dead, Counter Strike: Global Offensive, and Dota 2. These titles all became international hits worldwide for their rich gameplay and extensive user-generated mods availability: you can play Half Life 2 or Left 4 Dead 2 with all the available perks to enjoy again a title coming out ten years ago.

Valve has been constantly criticized for its poor communication skills with their player base which left many people disappointed over the future of the Half Life destiny. The many rumors and leaks over the years condensed into an even more confusing direction Valve is secretly considering for this title: continuing or not continuing?

If we analyze the patterns of behavior Valve has taken in the last ten years we see they have slowly left the game developing practice in order to go towards the distribution side. Steam has become a significant yet unique publishing platform for all types of big and small games, followed by music and movie distribution. 

Valve has been intensely working  with the Virtual Reality platform for the past five years while the whole creative Half Life team has left the company. For many it was an omen of changing times while others remain faithful to a miraculous release of Half Life 3.

Steam has pioneered the online experience of a service providing game purchase at an advantageous price to fight piracy and the retail sector of hard copies. This system has become an OS within an OS and the SteamOS is available to users who want PC experience on the go with a console feel.

Valve has been smart managing its online identity ever since it became an official distributor of digital goods well before anybody else, including a personal interface for each player to manage with its content. Now it has become an empire of triple A titles as well as an important vault of indie games. Steam has given independent developers a voice for their products to be sold and admired, something the competition snubbed for lack of better foresight in game design.

I wouldn't be surprised if Valve transforms itself into a multimedia distribution platform in the shape of Youtube/Twitch store, including the sale of the products it will eventually broadcast if the company decides to push for streaming rights. It seems as a logical deduction in the wake of the many shifts of broadcasting and sales rights the net has witnessed until today.

One thing we have to wait for is for international distribution rights to be granted along with specific contracts for each continental region. Laws and copyright restrictions still limit some deals of titles and contents as well of platform spreading in the Western World; any further expansion towards the east like China and the rest of Asia will still be something to monitor.

The DRM Free version of UnDungeon will be available on the GOG platform

You ask us and we listen to you! We are extremely happy to announce that the DRM Free version of UnDungeon will be released on the GOG platform together with the Steam release.

Onward (2020, Dan Scanlon)