Every Little Helps! UK Giant Tesco Will Stop Stocking Physical Video Games | Push Square

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Colossal UK supermarket chain Tesco has announced plans to stop stocking video games entirely in its 2,800 stores, contributing to the spiralling death of physical software. According to Games Industry.biz, the firm will begin phasing out boxed PlayStation, Nintendo, and Xbox games immediately, meaning once its current crop of stock has sold out, there’ll be no more. It might be a good idea to check your local shop for discounts while it clears out its inventory!

The colossus said that its decision hinges on a transition “towards digital entertainment”. It’ll continue to stock digital wallet top-ups for use on platforms like the PS Store, but that’ll be the extent of its in-store video game offerings. Last month, the four biggest new releases in the UK – Diablo 4, Final Fantasy 16, Street Fighter 6, and F1 23 – sold just 18 per cent of their copies at retail, with the remaining 82 per cent purchased digitally.

While Tesco’s decision won’t come as a surprise, it’s only going to help accelerate the escalating transition to digital, which is snowballing now. While we don’t expect physical releases to go away entirely any time soon, it’s clear they’re becoming more and more niche – and you should probably expect more digital-only launches moving forward, as it’s already happening with major titles like Alan Wake 2.

A true PlayStation veteran, Sammy's covered the world of PS gaming for years, with an enormous Trophy count to prove it. He also likes tennis games way more than you.

I thought this was coming. Went in to Tesco shortly after TOTK came out and noticed they hadn't stocked the game at all. Took a look at the other games there and noticed that they were missing some other recent releases.

I very much despise the way