This morning, Sony announced that in 2028 they will discontinue the production of PlayStation games on physical media. This is presumably part of the lead-in to the release of the PlayStation 6, which is rumored to exist as both a low-power handheld and a high-power home console. This news comes on the heels of Rockstar Games announcing that Grand Theft Auto 6 will release in digital form only – if you buy a box, it will contain a download code and that’s it. Sony’s announcement was followed by reporting from Windows Central that the upcoming XBOX successor code-named “Project Helix” may also drop disc support.
A lot of folks have written in various venues about why digital-only games are bad or harmful for this or that reason – access, preservation, economics – there are a million arguments. This post will highlight a concern I have that is often overlooked in these discussions: the effects on education and the classroom.
Tag: gaming
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The End of Physical Video Games Threatens Games Education (and Libraries, and Scholars, and…)
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GDC 2026 Recap
Much has been said about the Game Developers Conference’s rebrand to “GDC Festival of Gaming.” Now that we’re on the other side of it, as somebody who was heavily involved in planning of events in and around this year’s conference, I wanted to write a recap of how things went, my thoughts, and what the future might hold.
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Ludic Epistolary or, Where Have All The Letters Gone?
In this essay, I discuss the evolution of epistolary fiction from its early days in novels through modern incarnations in video games.
Justin Bortnick 