Lords of the Fallen 2 Guide: PS5 Physical vs Digital Release Date

Rockstar’s GTA 6 and Sony’s latest push toward a digital-first model have kicked off a louder debate about what happens to physical games—and who pays the price. As more major publishers experiment with removing discs from the equation, CI Games CEO Marek Tyminski, who leads the team behind Lords of the Fallen 2, argues that the shift isn’t automatically “fair” for smaller studios and publishers that still want to put versions on shelves. The controversy began when GTA 6 became one of the biggest AAA releases to fully commit to no physical launch, a move that immediately drew backlash from players who still prefer boxed copies.

Concerns about physical media have been building for weeks, with GTA 6 acting as the flashpoint. The game opened pre-orders on June 25 with a clear promise: it would be digital-only. At retail, the plan is reportedly just a code inside a box, and there would never be a disc release. Not long after, Sony said it intends to stop producing physical discs entirely by 2028, and speculation picked up that Microsoft is exploring a conversion approach from disc to digital—often discussed in relation to a project described as “Helix,” which is being framed as a digital-only effort. Players haven’t responded kindly to these changes, and the pushback has now moved beyond forums, with studio leaders warning that the trend could disadvantage companies that try to satisfy demand for physical product.

Even retailers aren’t fully on board with the direction. At least one shop has said it will not carry copies of Grand Theft Auto 6 when the game releases later this year.

GTA 6’s Digital-Only Plan Called “Unfair” by Lords of the Fallen 2 CEO

Tyminski used social media to address the growing divide. He argued that making GTA 6 digital-only is unfair to smaller studios that still pursue physical releases because of the expenses that come with doing so. In his view, physical sales are harder to justify in practice, pointing to lower revenue per unit for developers, slower and longer timelines, and added costs in an industry where many companies already struggle to break even. Despite that criticism of the digital-only approach, his own studio reportedly intends to release Lords of the Fallen 2 in physical form.

The basic economics are part of why he believes the situation can become lopsided. Packaging a case and producing a disc for store shelves lowers the effective cost per unit for games sold, while a direct digital purchase can keep the “per-copy” flow more favorable for the publisher. For smaller businesses, though, those differences can hit harder—especially compared with huge publishers that can absorb the expense through sheer sales volume.

Tyminski also laid out a more detailed breakdown of how money can be split for disc-based sales. He claims retail takes in the neighborhood of 25–35%, distributors account for about 10–20%, and the physical manufacturing portion is roughly $10 per unit. With that structure, he estimates studios may end up with around $26 for each disc copy sold, before considering things like discounts, price changes, or the broader realities of sales performance. He contrasts that with the amount he says a studio can receive from a digital-only sale at the highest margin—about $49—framing the digital option as clearly better when looking purely at return on investment.

His conclusion, in his own words, was blunt: “From a pure ROI standpoint, the choice is obvious.”

Those comments line up with themes other developers have raised recently. After Sony’s physical-disc announcement, developers tied to Baldur’s Gate 3 spoke out, saying that while producing a physical edition can be expensive, the value still exists because it makes players happy. Still, when you compare that sentiment to the kind of sales math Tyminski detailed, it becomes harder for publishers to ignore how much physical formats matter financially as the market shifts.

GTA 6 won’t be the first major AAA title to go digital-only, but it may be the most visible one if the plan holds through release. Alan Wake 2 previously stayed digital-only as well until fan requests indicated there was enough interest for Remedy and Epic Games to decide a physical run was worth it. Meanwhile, Hellblade 2 remains without a physical release, and fans have continued pushing for a boutique publisher such as Limited Run Games to step in and deliver discs in place of Microsoft. Whether third-party physical sellers can reduce some of the burden on studios that want to sell boxed copies—without forcing those studios to shoulder the full cost—remains an open question.