
On the PS5, there’s still a small market for physical games, which means the vast majority of major titles still release at retail.
However, there’s concern that proposed tariffs on imported goods from Mexico could accelerate the rate at which boxed games go away.
Speaking at his inauguration earlier this week, President Donald Trump reiterated his goal to impose 25% tariffs on imported goods from countries like Mexico. As pointed out by Circana analyst Mat Piscatella, many of the US’ disc-based games are manufactured in the country.
While Trump claims the foreign exporters will be the ones to pay the tariffs, many argue that it’s usually the importers – in this particular case, video game retailers – that will be forced to foot the bill.
“With 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico on the way, I can see a sharp downtick in the number of disc-based games that get released physically in the US, as much of that production infrastructure is in Mexico,” Piscatella pointed out.
Worse still, the analyst speculated that this could also push the price of digital games higher, as publishers seek pricing parity across their products.
“I would, were this to happen, anticipate digital MSRPs to increase to remain at price parity with physical, but who knows,” he pondered.
Trump had originally said the touted tariffs would go into effect on day one of his presidency, but he’s now pushed his plan to 1st February. It’s worth adding that even if they do go into effect, industry representatives could lobby for exclusions on video game goods.