Take-Two CEO says GTA VI will launch without physical disc

Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick has defended the company's decision to release Grand Theft Auto VI without a physical game disc, framing it as a logical step in an industry that is already overwhelmingly digital. The comments came during the company's quarterly earnings call on August 7, 2026, following the announcement in June that physical editions of the game would contain only a download code.

Zelnick stated that over 90% of the company's game sales revenue is already digital, a figure that rose to 98% in its latest fiscal quarter. He argued that for a major title like GTA VI, physical discs no longer make practical sense for consumers, especially since most games require an online connection for registration or play. "If you're already connected, who cares if you download digitally? It's all the same and it's much more convenient," Zelnick said. He compared the future of game discs to vinyl records in the music industry, suggesting physical editions may still occur occasionally but will not be the standard for big releases.

The CEO also expressed strong optimism about the future of game streaming, predicting that commercially viable, low-latency streaming will...