Starting in January 2028, new PlayStation games will no longer be produced on disc. Sony justified the move by citing a shift in preferences toward digital. In the very same weeks, GOG, the PC store known for DRM-free distribution, is doing something that seems to head in the opposite direction: 3D scanning old video game boxes and making printable versions of the original packaging available.
The coincidence illustrates a tension that gaming has yet to resolve. Digital distribution is more convenient, cost-effective, and immediate, but it has progressively separated the concept of purchase from that of physical ownership.
A disc was also a cultural safeguard
Physical media did not guarantee perfect preservation: discs degrade, consoles break down, and many modern games require patches. But it allowed a copy to survive independently of a storefront's business decisions.
Under the digital model, access depends on accounts, servers, licenses, and future compatibility. A store closure or the expiration of music rights can make a game difficult to purchase even when the code still exists.
GOG also preserves the physical object
GOG's Preservation Program aims to keep classic games running on modern systems. The new initiative adds 3D scans of the original packaging for titles such as Myst, Descent, and Hitman: Codename 47, along with materials that allow users to rebuild the boxes.
It is not mere nostalgia. Manuals, maps, cover art, and packaging were integral to how a work was presented and understood. Preserving only the executable is, in some cases, equivalent to preserving a film while discarding posters, credits, and materials that document its context.
Video games became heritage before having an archive
The medium is now more than half a century old, yet part of its history relies on collectors, emulators, and private initiatives. The rapid pace at which hardware and operating systems evolve makes preservation far more challenging than that of a book.
Sony's departure from optical discs accelerates this transition. For players, it brings convenience, but also greater platform dependency. For museums and researchers, it means preservation must be actively planned rather than left to chance.
The paradox is that digital formats can copy a file flawlessly ad infinitum, yet can also render it inaccessible with a single licensing change. The future of gaming will therefore require not only new games, but institutions, policies, and technologies capable of remembering the old ones.
