Physical games make a comeback after 10 years thanks to Nintendo's 631% surge

We recently reported on estimated sales figures for Insomniac's PS5-exclusive Marvel's Wolverine, which suggest a slight upward trend for physical games, at least in Europe – although the figures have sparked some controversy within the community. New data from market research firm Circana now provides further evidence that physical media isn't quite obsolete yet. This is particularly interesting in light of Sony's reported plans to phase out physical games starting in 2028.

According to Circana data shared on Bluesky by gaming industry analyst Mat Piscatella, spending on new physical games in the US rose by 5% to $738 million over the course of 2026 – the first increase in ten years, according to Piscatella. What's particularly striking is that spending on Nintendo's Game-Key Cards surged by a massive 631% compared to the same period last year. Without this increase, the overall picture would look considerably worse. Spending on all other physical game formats actually declined by 3%.

Speaking to Kotaku, Circana analyst Mat Piscatella explained that the increase was primarily driven by the significantly larger selection of available games. While only ten Game-Key Card titles were released last year, another 54 were added in 2026. The first growth in physical game spending in more than a decade is therefore largely attributable to the Switch 2 and increasing support from publishers.

Community sees continued demand for physical games

On Reddit, many users see the figures as evidence that physical games are still in demand. "I don’t think it’s keycards. I think people just want to own what they buy keycards help a bit but I think they actually lose them sales compared to full physical releases," writes u/bumboyboy, for example. However, some question whether the increase actually reflects the popularity of Game-Key Cards. "It's not a win for game key cards, it's a win for the idea of putting something onto store shelves, and to be fair that's probably a better win anyway," argues u/Transpotato2002.

As community discussions show, Game-Key Cards aren't particularly popular among Nintendo fans. Unlike traditional cartridges, they don't contain the full game and instead serve merely as a key to download it. At least they can still be lent or resold. However, they won't work without downloading the game first – and that hasn't changed.

The increase in spending doesn't necessarily mean that Game-Key Cards are becoming more popular. Instead, it may simply show that demand for physical games still exists. This also casts Sony's reported plans to phase out discs in a different light. Given the latest figures, it's at least questionable whether demand for physical games is really as low as Sony suggests. Nintendo, meanwhile, has stated that it has no plans to abandon physical games.

As a child in the 90s, my Gameboy was my steady companion. After school, the PlayStation was fired up. When I finally got my first PC, I was completely hooked. My passion for gaming has never waned since. For me, writing for Notebookcheck means reporting on topics that are really close to my heart - in addition to gaming, I also like to write about e-mobility, photovoltaics and innovative gadgets. When I'm not sitting at my computer, I'm probably on water rescue duty on the Baltic coast or trying to counteract the downsides of my geek life - namely sitting for long periods - at the local swimming pool.