By Katarzyna Jakubiec, Chief Business Officer at G2A.COM

Gaming is becoming increasingly digital. But that doesn’t mean consumer choice is disappearing with the disc. If anything, as digital becomes the default, players are becoming more demanding about how, where and on what terms they buy.

The continued shift away from physical media has reignited one of the games industry’s longest-running debates: physical versus digital. Yet framing the future of games retail as a contest between two formats increasingly misses the point. The more important question is what consumer choice looks like when digital becomes the dominant way people access entertainment.

At G2A.COM, we recently surveyed more than 2,000 users to better understand consumer sentiment around the future of games retail, particularly in the context of major AAA releases such as GTA VI.

When asked which format they would prefer if both physical and digital versions were available at launch, consumers were almost evenly divided: 38% preferred digital downloads and 37% physical discs. The remaining 25% expressed no preference or did not plan to buy GTA VI.

That near-even split is revealing. Even as the industry moves towards digital distribution, consumer preferences remain anything but uniform. They increasingly expect to make that choice themselves.

And as digital becomes the default, choice is no longer simply about physical versus digital. Increasingly, it is about the offer, price, seller, platform, payment method and purchasing experience that works best for each individual consumer.

The commercial case for digital distribution is well established. For publishers and platform owners, it can simplify supply chains, reduce manufacturing and logistics requirements, eliminating the risk of physical stock shortages.

Consumers benefit too. Games can be pre-loaded and accessed immediately at launch, availability is no longer dependent on physical inventory.

But efficiency is only half of the equation. The other half is what consumers gain – and what they still expect to retain – as the market becomes predominantly digital.

Convenience matters. So do price, flexibility, collectability and control. Different consumers assign different levels of importance to each of these factors, and their preferences change depending on the game or purchase. A mature digital market needs to recognise that complexity.

Our research illustrates just how nuanced those preferences remain.

While digital offers obvious benefits, 77% of respondents expressed some level of concern about long-term game preservation in a digital-only market, with 58% saying they were “very concerned”.

Physical releases also continue to offer value beyond the disc itself. When we asked G2A.COM users about physical-edition extras, 59% said items such as steelbooks and art books could influence their purchasing decision. Meanwhile, 69% said the ability to resell, trade or lend a game can influence their decision when buying a full-priced title.

Taken together, these findings should not be interpreted as a vote for physical over digital. They point to something broader: consumers define value differently.

For one player, the priority may be instant access. For another, it may be price. Someone else may value collectability, resale, a particular payment method or simply the ability to compare several offers before making a purchase.

The challenge for the industry, therefore, should not be to determine which format consumers ought to prefer. It should be to ensure that the transition towards digital does not unnecessarily narrow their options.

PC gaming has been predominantly digital for years – and 70% of the consumers in our survey primarily play on PC. But the decline of physical media on PC did not mean the end of consumer choice. Instead, that choice moved elsewhere.

Players gained access to different storefronts, digital marketplaces, sellers, subscription models, regional offers and payment options. Digitalisation did not eliminate choice; it changed its dimensions.

That distinction becomes increasingly important as console ecosystems move further towards digital distribution. The most important question is how much freedom they will have within that digital ecosystem.

Can they choose where they buy? Can they compare different offers? Can they access different price points? Can they use the payment methods that work best for them?

These are becoming the new dimensions of consumer choice.

This shift also changes the role of digital retail.

When physical and digital formats coexisted more evenly, much of the consumer debate centred on the format itself. In a digital-first environment, competition and differentiation increasingly happen within digital commerce.

Digital marketplaces have a particular role to play here. By bringing together offers from multiple sellers, they can give consumers the ability to compare options rather than follow a single prescribed purchasing journey.

At G2A.COM, the marketplace brings together offers from multiple verified business sellers, giving consumers the ability to choose between different offers and find the option that best fits their needs.

The value of a digital marketplace is not simply that the product itself is digital. It is the additional layer of choice that exists around the purchase.

The future of physical gaming will continue to evolve. Collector’s editions, merchandise and other premium physical products may continue to serve consumers who value the tangible side of gaming.

But the broader direction of the industry is clear: digital distribution will play an increasingly central role in how consumers access games.

That should not mean accepting a future with fewer options.

As consumers become more accustomed to digital commerce in every part of their lives, they increasingly expect flexibility to compare different price points, payment options, and they expect to decide for themselves which combination works best for them.

For publishers, platforms, retailers and marketplaces, the challenge is therefore bigger than managing the transition from one format to another. It is about ensuring that digital maturity translates into greater consumer empowerment rather than greater limitation.

The future of games retail will undoubtedly be more digital. But digital maturity shouldn’t mean funnelling every player into the same purchasing journey. It should mean giving consumers more ways to discover, compare and access entertainment on the terms that work for them.

The disc may eventually disappear. Consumer choice shouldn’t disappear with it.