Summary
In the past, players were commonly able to get any game they were looking forward to on disc for their consoles. However, in recent years, many AA and AAA titles have started to become digital only, meaning playerscan only purchase them directlyon their console without the possibility of purchasing a limited edition with a steel book or simply a physical version in general.
Whether players like it or not, some of the best games, as of recent years, have been some titles that players can only enjoy digitally, and therefore, these are by far the best games across various consoles that have never had a physical release. The following games have never had any physical copy at all in the West, including limited-time runs.
Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Namewas met with a lot of disappointment when it was first released in 2023, as players were shocked to see that the action-adventure title wasn’t going to be receiving a physical edition any time soon. Rye Ga Gotoku Studio justified its reasoning for this with the fact that many current generation consoles don’t need discs anymore and that there is a large influx of players that are only purchasing digitally.
Therefore, they found it more beneficial to have the game only be purchased on the console stores, or Steam. However, the game did technically receive a physical edition, but this was only available to those who purchasedthe game in Asia. While it was possible to purchase it from there and have it delivered to America, it was substantially more expensive, and therefore, the game is technically digital only for Western audiences.
2024 was another year of plenty of digital-only experiences, especially for games published by Microsoft.Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2was a title many players were looking forward to the release of when it was first showcased a couple of years back. However, discovering that the game was going to be digital-only did concern some players.
Even with these issues, the game not being received in a physical release when it first came out in May of that year didn’t causeSenua’s Saga: Hellblade 2to be enjoyed any less. This action-adventure title amazed players with its beautiful graphics and incredible story-telling that transcended the concerns of the game only being purchased on the Xbox store or on PC. Players can still hope that one dayHellblade 2receives a physical edition, but until then, many players can instead download it through Game Pass.
Horror experiences are another genre of gaming that has seen multiple titles being released as digital-only. EvenSOMA, a title brought to players by the developers of the Amnesia franchise and Penumbra, has released their games as only being available digitally. With the franchise before it being a great success, players foundSOMAto be another interesting and intense horror game that has an incredible story that gets revealed to the player as they adventure through the sci-fi base.
Even with the creators ofSOMAbeing considered an indie company,SOMAis such a memorable experience that many players wish that, even since its release in 2015, that the game has got its own physical edition alongside being able to purchase it through online stores.
Some of the best digital-only titles are those that tend to cover niche genres that some players may have believed have fallen out of popularity. However,Nex Machnia: Death Machine, atwin-stick shooter, proved that even niche titles like itself have a chance to be some of the best experiences that will have players pleading for a physical edition one day.
Nex Machina: Death Machineproves that even back in 2017, there were games that never saw a physical edition even being considered for them, even with the game only releasing on the two platforms of PlayStation 4 and Steam. The only possibility of this shooter title seeing a physical edition is through the creation of an arcade cabinet that the developers, Housemarque, have considered creating, though it hasn’t been released as yet.
Soon after this article was published,Alan Wake 2announced that a physical version would be released on June 08, 2025. While the vanilla iteration will not receive a solo physical release, fans can pick up a Deluxe or Collector’s Edition.
Out of all the digital-only games to be released, the best of the bunch is one of the most recently released games. Players were surprised to hear thatAlan Wake 2was going to be a digital-only game with many players in uproar that this title could only be purchased and played through the console stores or through Steam on PC. While this did have an effect on some players, it didn’t stopAlan Wake 2from being one of the most sought-after games of 2023.
Even with the title being only purchased through digital,Alan Wake 2was alsoRemedy Entertainment’sfastest purchased game, showing a change in player’s preference when it comes to physical games, as seen with other titles likeHellblade 2,which was also released as digital only a year afterAlan Wake 2’s success.
