Xbox looks likely to follow PC gaming by doing away with physical media, and Sony is already taking heat for its plans to stop PlayStation disc production by 2028. Whether or not Microsoft's next-gen, PC-like "Project Helix" console ships with some kind of external disc drive option is up for debate, but we know that Xbox executives are rethinking their strategy around production and shipping, mostly thanks to the unending RAM crisis affecting Xbox console prices.

An understandable knee-jerk reaction across social media has been to quiz PC gamers on why they're comfortable with Steam's approach to digital-only game sales and its implied digital rights management, even if the executable DRM wrapper in Steam is apparently optional. Plus, the popular, if runner-up, GOG maintains its stance on DRM-free digital ownership, though it relies on a proactive backup mentality from buyers.

However, regardless of how any retailer pitches itself as supposedly being on the side of consumers, there's no denying that there's a scary implication for the future of gaming, whether that's on Windows PCs or whatever hybrid consoles come next. Sony already plans to close its digital PS3 and PS Vita store, and has withdrawn ownership of digitally purchased movies for UK gamers, due to "content licensing agreements".

The slow, miserable death of ownership

There's understandable pushback from some gamers, who ask whether physical discs serve a purpose in 2026, with many questioning whether their peers have even bought a game outside digital stores in the last few years. However, our own readers say they'll "miss buying physical games", and I'm firmly in the same boat. Still, the status quo is seemingly shifting to digital purchases (or rentable licenses, depending on who you ask), whether we like it or not.

Besides the obvious benefit of allowing a friend or family member to borrow your games with ease — something Sony is also suffering criticism for on social media, given its previous tongue-in-cheek video response to Xbox's stance at the time — other elements of physical media now feel stranger in their absence as time goes on. Midnight launches, quirky in-box booklets, and money-saving second-hand sales are relics of the past.

At the risk of sounding like a budding applicant for a nursing home, midnight launches were a huge part of the hype surrounding games. Sure, they've been irrelevant for a few years already, but the FOMO effect of seeing hundreds of people queuing to buy a game even piqued my interest in some that I previously had no real desire to play, now replaced by refreshing web browsers to pre-order a digital GTA 6 code for $100.

Even today, after picking up a Switch 2, I'm borrowing Switch 1 cartridges from friends to catch up on Nintendo's modern era, spending a grand total of zero dollars on second-hand titles. Now, as the company moves towards Virtual Game Cards, it feels like this will likely be the last generation that lets me borrow games. Sorry to all the younger siblings out there, but you'll need to buy your own copies — no more hand-me-down goldmines.

Frankly, I rarely even spend the full amount on PC games, opting instead for discounted CD keys from Loaded or somewhere similar. I'm so regularly frustrated when I see pre-owned boxed games grow cheaper — depending on their rarity — while some digital copies remain expensive. From now on, we can only hope for sales events and pray the platform owners never shut down and take our licenses away.

Are you concerned with the disappearance of physical game discs, or are you fine with digital ownership — perhaps as long as there's a plan in place to transfer licenses in the future? I'm interested in takes from both sides, and the justifications for anything in between. Let me know in the comments, because it's certainly a turbulent time for gamers, no matter what opinion you hold.

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If, by some miracle, you've been living on the moon in a soundproof dome for the last six months, you may not have noticed that gaming hardware has grown extremely expensive, making the hobby a mostly miserable affair for all involved. We first called it the RAM crisis, but the sad reality is that it's now spilling over into storage, and experts are predicting a grim future.

It's shredding PC gaming, as Valve's much-anticipated Steam Machine launched at over $1,000 for its cheapest model — a higher price than most might have expected — with its creators explaining that it "reflects the state of the world". Consumers are flanked at every turn, as anyone planning to buy older generations of memory sees that DDR4 and even DDR3 prices are going up.

It's easy to point fingers at Microsoft, given its undeniable, if somewhat retracted, obsession with AI, whether that's Copilot in Windows or an implementation across its Azure cloud stack. And let's be honest, it's not without irony that XBOX CEO Asha Sharma said that "gaming is becoming unaffordable" just before the brand announced a price increase on its consoles.

Sure enough, Xbox's Matthew Ball agrees that "crisis is the right term", and the effects of expensive RAM will undoubtedly be felt in the lead-up to its next-gen Project Helix console — which supposedly behaves more like a gaming PC — and who knows what its launch price might look like (over a thousand dollars?) In fact, hardware pivots are already appearing in Microsoft's PC hardware, as the Surface Laptop returns with 8GB of RAM to keep costs down.

I know, I'm hardly a beacon of good news or hopeful visions of the future, but this AI bubble will presumably break at some point, and it's good to take stock of what options we actually have. The usual midsummer onslaught of sales events brought some relief with retailer discounts, and pre-built gaming PCs maintain a hint of value throughout. Still, prospective buyers will have to brace for an inevitable sting if they plan to grab something later this year (or into 2027).

If you're interested in console gaming, you're looking at a minimum of $749.99 for a digital Xbox Series X — that's the one without a disc drive — or $499.99 for a similarly discless (and less powerful) Xbox Series S. On Sony's side, a PS5 Pro is now $899.99, or at least $599.99 for a digital base PS5. That's without any games, by the way, and Grand Theft Auto VI recently confirmed a $99 price tag for a code of its Ultimate Edition with all in-game content intact.

Gamers at large are already expected to spend close to $1,000 just to get started. The entire situation is absurd and unfair, but it puts the price of handhelds like MSI's $1,799 Claw 8 EX AI+ into perspective; that's just how much this kind of ultra-enthusiast hardware costs now. The whole thing reminds me of a bygone era of crypto mining that drove up GPU prices, but this time, it's bigger and even more insulting.

So, what are you supposed to do? You can penny-pinch your way through buying discounted and second-hand hardware, or you can submit to a future of subscription-based gaming streamed from the cloud. If you don't already own an Xbox, I'd suggest picking one up before the price increase happens in August, but that's about all you can do. Stay strong, gamers.

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In case you didn't notice (I'm joking, because you definitely did), PC gaming has become a painfully expensive hobby. Amazon Prime Day is supposed to help offset that with massive discounts, but does it really count when it brings components back to near-MSRP levels? We take what we can get, I suppose.

Either way, it's difficult to recommend building your own PC from scratch right now. If you've never tried it, the anxiety of handling now-overinflated RAM will surely feel worse than ever — and that's one of the easiest parts to install. On the bright side, iBUYPOWER has some merciful discounts on pre-builts.

A pre-built gaming PC is just easier

Yeah, I might get some pushback from die-hard gaming PC builders, but I don't have any qualms with a pre-built option. I've been there — installing a CPU for the first time, losing my mind about installing thermal paste correctly (just a pea-sized amount, guys), and stressed about RAM profiles alongside other BIOS options. You don't have to do any of it.

Installing and setting up Windows 11 is the same wherever you go, and iBUYPOWER's decision to ship graphics cards (GPUs) separately isn't as intimidating as it looks. They slot in just like an old-school game cartridge and hold in place with a few screws. That's really all there is to it, and each rig comes with clear instructions anyway. I'd know, I tested a Trace X PC earlier this year. Treat yourself, PC gaming is the best.

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