We are already witnessing the gaming distribution becoming more and more digital with a major portion of gamers still sticking with physical discs. However according to the analyst, by 2020 the entire gaming distribution will shift towards digital-only game distribution.
This is according to analysts at Piper Jaffray, a US-based asset management firm, who believe that the entire game distribution will shift to digital-only by the year 2020.
It is a certainty that video games will be approximately 100% digital in the coming years. While exact timing is hard to pinpoint, we think 2022 is a realistic expectation.
Digital distribution has already resulted in good things in favor of indie developers as digital distribution results in lowering the development cost as indie developers don’t necessarily require to release their games on physical discs.
Speaking of digital games, another research firm has noted that loot boxes will drive the digital game market worth To $160 Billion by 2022. However, this seems unlikely now that game devs have started to back off from featuring loot boxes in their games such as Battlefield V, Anthem and The division 2.
While developers are backtracking from featuring loot boxes but, that doesn’t mean they are done with microtransactions as they will be plenty of cosmetic only microtransactions in video games. This might slow down the pace at which digital games market’s worth will reach $160 Billion but, will make sure that it gets there.
As we mentioned earlier, we are already witnessing the move towards digital-only game distribution with Far Cry 5 digital units making up a massive portion of its overall sales figure.
Do you think of moving towards digital-only game distribution? Let us know in the comments.
Source: Barrons
