{"id":2064172,"date":"2026-07-27T16:01:25","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T13:01:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2064172"},"modified":"2026-07-27T16:01:25","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T13:01:25","slug":"rockstar-games-and-gta-co-founder-chimes-in-on-the-raging-physical-games-debate-if-people-want-that-companies-should-provide-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2064172","title":{"rendered":"Rockstar Games and GTA co-founder chimes in on the raging physical games debate: &#8220;If people want that, companies should provide it&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article \" data-ads=\"true\" data-article-type=\"news\" data-article-group=\"news\" data-paywalled=\"false\" data-premium=\"false\" data-sponsored=\"false\" data-type=\"article\">\n<header class=\"article_header\" data-component=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<nav class=\"nav_breadcrumbs\" data-component=\"nav-breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">\n<ul class=\"nav-links\">\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Home<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/news\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      News<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_details\" id=\"main-content\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">Rockstar Games and GTA co-founder chimes in on the raging physical games debate: &#8220;If people want that, companies should provide it&#8221;<\/h1>\n<p class=\"strapline\">Houser stakes.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_asset\">\n<figure class=\"headline_image_wrapper\">\n<p>        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"headline_image\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/grand-theft-auto-6-drinking.png?width=570&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;dpr=3&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Screenshot from Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer 2, with two characters drinking.\" loading=\"eager\" data-uri=\"grand-theft-auto-6-drinking.png\" data-lightbox width=\"570\" height=\"321\"><figcaption>\n          <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Rockstar Games.<\/cite><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metadata\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Connor Makar avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/tAtwiaBo_400x400.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"374\" height=\"374\"><\/p>\n<p>  <img alt=\"Connor Makar avatar\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"tAtwiaBo_400x400.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"374\" height=\"374\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"byline\">\n                  <span class=\"article_type\" data-slug=\"news\"><br \/>\n                    News<br \/>\n                  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"by\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/authors\/connor-makar\">Connor Makar<\/a><\/span>                    <span class=\"job_title\"><br \/>\n                      Staff Writer<br \/>\n                    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"published_at\">\nPublished on <time datetime=\"2026-07-27T16:01:25+00:00\">July 27, 2026<\/time>              <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mypop-header-wrapper\">\n<p><button class=\"mypop-button button wide\" data-state=\"follow\" data-type=\"tag\" data-uuid=\"f09362bb-55b0-49f2-8256-d80b7c9e2dd2\" data-name=\"Grand Theft Auto\" data-follow-text=\"Follow Grand Theft Auto\" data-unfollow-text=\"Following Grand Theft Auto\" data-aria-follow-text=\"Follow Grand Theft Auto\" data-aria-unfollow-text=\"Following Grand Theft Auto\" data-popup=\"true\" data-force-login=\"true\" aria-label=\"Follow Grand Theft Auto\" title=\"Follow Grand Theft Auto\"><br \/>\n  Follow Grand Theft Auto<br \/>\n<\/button>          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/companies\/rockstar-games\">Rockstar Games<\/a> co-founder Dan Houser and longtime Rockstar writer Lazlow Jones have chipped in on the physical video games debate.<\/p>\n<p>This topic has been raging ever since Rockstar Games announced <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/grand-theft-auto-6-physical-no-disc-experts\">Grand Theft Auto 6 would not ship with a disc<\/a>. This news was quickly followed by Sony revealing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/sony-ending-playstation-discs-physical-media-january-2028\">it would no longer produce physical discs for games after January 2028<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video_wrapper youtube\">\n<a aria-label=\"American Caper - Official Exclusive Trailer\" class=\"video-facade full-size\" data-platform=\"youtube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/iRRTxyBVIV4?autoplay=1\" title=\"Click to play video from YouTube\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cover image for YouTube video\" class=\"video-facade__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/iRRTxyBVIV4\/hqdefault.jpg\"><span class=\"video-facade__title\">American Caper &#8211; Official Exclusive Trailer<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>Here&#8217;s a trailer for American Caper.<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=iRRTxyBVIV4\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Houser and Jones, who now both work at Absurd Ventures, were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=aEWBnmqu5xQ\">speaking to IGN at SDCC<\/a> about current projects &#8211; including the American Caper comic series. They were also asked whether they liked their games to be physical or digital, to which the pair provided the following opinions.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t know that I care, but if people want that, companies should provide it,&#8221; said Houser. &#8220;I think the ability to update games &#8211; as critical as people are on digital releases &#8211; the ability to update and fix problems in games have been very useful to the quality of games.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Lazlow followed up with his own perspective: &#8220;We all love that feeling of getting a copy and putting the disc in the console, but I also have to say I really like being at the airport and going &#8216;oh cool, I can download some games to my Steam Deck for this 12 hour flight&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Lazlow then linked their opinions on physical and digital video games to their current jobs working with physical media, namely comic books. He said:  &#8220;We&#8217;ve worked in digital together for a lot of years, and making a physical product in a comic book is a different creative process. But also, it&#8217;s really fulfilling to have a physical thing that you can say [you made].&#8221; To this, Houser added that he loved physical media.<\/p>\n<p>This topic of physical and digital games has stirred up plenty of discussion, with key figures from across the games industry chipping in. Sega&#8217;s president Shuji Utsumi, for instance, said that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/playstation-physical-media-sega-ceo\">physical games were still valued at the company<\/a>, while Death Stranding and Metal Gear Solid director <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/hideo-kojima-physical-media-really-sad\">Hideo Kojima expressed sadness at Sony&#8217;s decision to wind down physical disc production<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"preferred-source\" data-component=\"preferred-source\">\nLove Eurogamer.net? Make us a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\">Preferred Source on Google<\/a> and catch more of our coverage in your feeds.  <\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/companies\/rockstar-games\">Rockstar Games<\/a> co-founder Dan Houser and longtime Rockstar writer Lazlow Jones have chipped in on the physical video games debate.<\/p>\n<p>This topic has been raging ever since Rockstar Games announced <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/grand-theft-auto-6-physical-no-disc-experts\">Grand Theft Auto 6 would not ship with a disc<\/a>. This news was quickly followed by Sony revealing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/sony-ending-playstation-discs-physical-media-january-2028\">it would no longer produce physical discs for games after January 2028<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video_wrapper youtube\">\n<a aria-label=\"American Caper - Official Exclusive Trailer\" class=\"video-facade full-size\" data-platform=\"youtube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/iRRTxyBVIV4?autoplay=1\" title=\"Click to play video from YouTube\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cover image for YouTube video\" class=\"video-facade__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/iRRTxyBVIV4\/hqdefault.jpg\"><span class=\"video-facade__title\">American Caper &#8211; Official Exclusive Trailer<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>Here&#8217;s a trailer for American Caper.<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=iRRTxyBVIV4\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Houser and Jones, who now both work at Absurd Ventures, were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=aEWBnmqu5xQ\">speaking to IGN at SDCC<\/a> about current projects &#8211; including the American Caper comic series. They were also asked whether they liked their games to be physical or digital, to which the pair provided the following opinions.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t know that I care, but if people want that, companies should provide it,&#8221; said Houser. &#8220;I think the ability to update games &#8211; as critical as people are on digital releases &#8211; the ability to update and fix problems in games have been very useful to the quality of games.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Lazlow followed up with his own perspective: &#8220;We all love that feeling of getting a copy and putting the disc in the console, but I also have to say I really like being at the airport and going &#8216;oh cool, I can download some games to my Steam Deck for this 12 hour flight&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Lazlow then linked their opinions on physical and digital video games to their current jobs working with physical media, namely comic books. He said:  &#8220;We&#8217;ve worked in digital together for a lot of years, and making a physical product in a comic book is a different creative process. But also, it&#8217;s really fulfilling to have a physical thing that you can say [you made].&#8221; To this, Houser added that he loved physical media.<\/p>\n<p>This topic of physical and digital games has stirred up plenty of discussion, with key figures from across the games industry chipping in. Sega&#8217;s president Shuji Utsumi, for instance, said that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/playstation-physical-media-sega-ceo\">physical games were still valued at the company<\/a>, while Death Stranding and Metal Gear Solid director <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/hideo-kojima-physical-media-really-sad\">Hideo Kojima expressed sadness at Sony&#8217;s decision to wind down physical disc production<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home News Rockstar Games and GTA co-founder chimes in on the raging physical games debate: &#8220;If people want that, companies should provide it&#8221; Houser stakes. Image credit: Rockstar Games. News by Connor Makar Staff Writer Published on July 27, 2026 Follow Grand Theft Auto Rockstar Games co-founder Dan Houser and longtime Rockstar writer Lazlow Jones [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,253],"class_list":["post-2064172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-eurogamer-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2064172","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2064172"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2064172\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2064172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2064172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2064172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}