Even though Sony has officially announced that they’ll stop production of discs from 2028 and the fact that The Witcher 4 is currently slated to come out after that, the devs have confirmed that the open world fantasy action RPG will “have a box” for physical game collectors. In a recent interview with The Games Business, CD Project Joint CEO Michał Nowakowski has stated that even though discs may not be manufactured anymore by the time The Witcher 4 comes out, the studio still plans to release a physical edition of the game in some form.
“We don’t know what’s going to be the case,” he said. “We know what PlayStation has announced. And we have no influence on the policies of the first parties. The discs for the first parties, including PlayStation, have to be manufactured in their own factories. So, if they stop manufacturing indeed by 2028, then yes [we won’t have a disc].”
“But we’re big fans of people having access to tangible collectible things,” Nowakowski added. “We’re nerds ourselves, and we like that. We always supported that. So, whatever is the case, we’re going to be for sure having a box. We’re going to have a box that’s going to have some feelies in it. Something you’re going to be wanting to open up and enjoy. But we have no influence actually on what’s the case here.”
Sony deciding to stop productions of discs altogether from 2028 which could lead to a complete demise of all physical media is the single biggest news of this year that could easily have industry-altering ramifications throughout the coming months and years. And while it may not make much difference to players who have come to prefer digital versions of videogames than physical, but what’s actually saddening is the end of a long era of physical media, which are an embodiment of many gamers’ emotions for their favorite hobby as well as a symbol of ownership which will be sorely and dishearteningly missed.
