A noted analyst has predicted that President Trumpās proposed tariffs will hasten the decline of videogames on disc.
Thereās lots of things weāre a bit worried when it comes to the next four years, and this story ranks pretty far down the list. However, it will be notable news for gaming fans who prize physical media for its many benefits.
If youāre reading this, you likely donāt need us to tell you what those benefits are, but actually owning the game youāre playing still feels important, even if some publishers (hello, Ubisoft) would try to have us believe itās a quaint and outdated notion. Not being subject to the high prices of some digital storefronts and being able to re-sell or lend a game are also nice things to be able to do.
With the arrival of Donald Trump, however, Mat Piscatella, executive director of videogames at market research firm Circana (spotted by Dark Horizons) has predicted that we could be in line for a rapid downturn in gaming physical media. Trumpās proposed tariffs on Mexico have led Piscatella to outline the following scenario on Bluesky:
“With 25 percent tariffs on imports from Mexico on the way, I can see a sharp downtick in the number of disc-based games that get released physically in the US, as much of that production infrastructure is in Mexico.”
Of course, the alternative is that publishers just pass that cost hike straight onto the consumer, but donāt expect that to suddenly make digital a cheaper option, says Piscatella:
“I would, were this to happen, anticipate digital MSRPs to increase to remain at price parity with physical, but who knows. In any case, none of this is good for the physical video game market.”
Read more: If media companies want us to embrace an all-digital future, then consumers deserve protection
This isnāt good news for game publishers, either, many of whom have made huge layoffs over the past year. Some analysts have predicted that GTA 6 ā set for release later this year ā will see the arrival of the first $100 game, a move that some analysts claim is necessary for the long-term health of the industry.
That potential price uplift is ostensibly to cover rising development costs in the industry. Should a Trump tariff add further costs on, publishers will be faced with a choice which isnāt palatable for them or for players: pass further costs onto gamers, push fewer resources into tackling spiralling development costs, or drop physical media entirely.
Given that this is coming on the same day that we hear Sony is ceasing the production of Blu-ray discs altogether, youāll have to excuse us for pointing out that this is not the happiest start to 2025 for fans of physical media. Weāll bring you more on this as we hear it.