this post was submitted on 02 Jul 2026
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People want retail games and if the big 3 can't cover that market a new and more sustainable subject will fill that space. Maybe it's time to bring back physical media to PC, a more open system where publishers could make profit selling their retail games similarly to vinyls for music.

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[–] Agent_Karyo@piefed.world 45 points 8 hours ago (3 children)

No, physical media is not useful for PC games, you want a DRM free installer (preferably with all relevant patches applied, both game patches and compatibility DLL/mods for older games), not the physical media (which may or may not have DRM).

This ship has sailed a long time ago on PC (~15 years ago).

[–] SolarPunker@slrpnk.net 12 points 8 hours ago (4 children)

I think drm-free indie oriented publishers like Annapurna could make a lot of money with physical copies.

[–] IrateAnteater@sh.itjust.works 6 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

I doubt it. At least for all but the most viral of indie games. Manufacturing physical copies is expensive and would involve minimum order quantity from suppliers.

[–] mnemonicmonkeys@sh.itjust.works 1 points 44 minutes ago

Tbh, popular indie games could probably use crowdfunding platforms post launch to do it

[–] kahjtheundedicated@lemmy.world 7 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

I could see physical releases, at least as special editions, being a thing people would like. Though I think today SD cards would make more sense, at least if flash memory prices ever come back down.

But a SD card with a custom label in box with proper box art and a little art book inside would be cool for fans and collectors.

[–] mnemonicmonkeys@sh.itjust.works 2 points 43 minutes ago (1 children)

But a SD card with a custom label in box with proper box art and a little art book inside would be cool for fans and collectors.

Essentially Switch cartridges, but PC

[–] Agent_Karyo@piefed.world 14 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago)

That may be true, I just don't see the point of storing the DRM free installerі on an optical disc, something like an SD card which can be easily updated seems like a much better fit.

Most computers don't have optical disc drives (I do have one, but I am exception and I don't use it for data).

[–] tburkhol@slrpnk.net 9 points 7 hours ago

As someone with a collection of a couple hundred CDs and another hundred or so DVDs filling my closet, I'm not really sure everyone appreciates the logistics of holding physical media for a couple-hundred-game library.

[–] SARGE@startrek.website 2 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

I combine the two.

Burn offline drm free installers onto blank cds.

Well... Dvds, I can fit some older games into cds but they don't have the same capacity.

[–] Flatfire@lemmy.ca 1 points 4 hours ago (2 children)

Optical media really isn't your friend. I love it, I have loads of old games on optical discs and I bought a PS5 with its disc drive specifically because that's how I wanted to buy the media. But I also back up what I can to spinning rust or solid state drives that can sit cold stored until I want them. Optical media will degrade. There are exceptions, like M-Disc, but the medium is slow and space consuming.

[–] mnemonicmonkeys@sh.itjust.works 1 points 41 minutes ago (1 children)

If the files are DRM-free as they said, then there's nothing stopping backups. I don't get why you're trying to paint it as an either/or thing

[–] Flatfire@lemmy.ca 1 points 20 minutes ago

I'm not sure I understand. Whether it's DRM free or not has no bearing on the reliability of optical media as a backup format. Discs you write to are not generally as reliable as factory pressings, with some archival exceptions, so it's not the ideal choice. I wasn't making any argument about whether it works or not.

[–] SARGE@startrek.website 1 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

I mean, I have an external hdd I keep a backup of important files on, and an ssd I use to transfer things onto a second computer, and it's just a full backup of my primary pc.

[–] Flatfire@lemmy.ca 1 points 10 minutes ago

Fair enough. I didn't assume you were doing that for data generally. My original comment was unnecessarily condescending in tone, sorry about that.

[–] Strider@lemmy.world 6 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

Physical media has long sailed but not drm free software.

(I'm not sure which of those you're referring to, just clearly stating)

[–] Agent_Karyo@piefed.world 7 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

I was talking about data storage on optical discs, not DRM free installers. :)

[–] Strider@lemmy.world 2 points 6 hours ago