Digital copies are becoming increasingly popular: sales of physical versions of games in the UK fell by 34.5% over the year

Digital copies of games are becoming more and more popular, because there is a reason why this generation of consoles brought us versions without a disc drive, because why go to the store to buy a disc if you can get the game right at home with 1 click? And statistics show that physical copies have lost a lot of popularity.

Here's What We Know

Sales of physical games in the UK have fallen by 34.5% over the past year. For comparison, sales of digital copies of games fell by only one per cent, while subscription services (such as PS Plus, Game Pass, and others) grew by 12%. This was reported by the Digital Entertainment and Retail Association (ERA).

In the UK in 2024, the most popular game was EA Sports FC 25, but only 20% of copies were sold in the disc version, and 80% of football fans decided to take a digital copy.

Although ERA CEO Kim Bailey believes that physical copies still play an important role.

However, this year the situation may improve, because if GTA VI is released, a large number of people may want to get a disc, because such games come out every 10 years.

Source: ERA