Marvel’s Wolverine, the PS5 exclusive poised to become one of the final first-party PlayStation titles shipped on disc, is defying assumptions that physical copies would be inconsequential in Sony’s all-digital future. According to new estimates from Ampere Analysis shared with The Game Business, roughly 35 percent of the game’s total sales came from disc versions — a figure that underscores how much demand for tangible media still lingers across the console landscape.
The data arrives months into Sony’s contentious decision to accelerate its departure from optical media, and it carries implications far beyond a single blockbuster release. Rather than confirming that collectors have already emptied their shelves, the numbers suggest that physical gaming retains a meaningful — if shrinking — business case that publishers may be quick to abandon at their own risk.
A Physical Resurgence in September’s Top Sellers
The Wolverine figures were part of a broader breakdown of estimates for PlayStation’s best-selling games during September 2025, and the new exclusive was far from alone in performing strongly on disc. The Blood of Dawnwalker was estimated to sell 36 percent of its copies physically, while Silent Hill Townfall posted an even more striking 45 percent in boxed form.
The trend is especially pronounced across parts of Europe, where PlayStation remains the dominant gaming platform and physical media continues to hold cultural weight. Collectors, gift buyers, and players who simply prefer owning a disc over managing digital libraries have all contributed to sustaining demand at a moment when many industry observers assumed it had already collapsed.
“People have a need to collect. That’s where physical sales are still incredibly relevant for the consumer market. The industry is ready to move on, but not so fast. This is increasingly a big part of it.”
Joost van Dreunen, NYU business professor and gaming analyst
The Last Gasp or a Lasting Trend?
How much of this surge reflects the final gasp of a dying medium — fans rushing to purchase what they still can before Sony phases out discs entirely — versus how much signals an enduring market segment remains unclear. The distinction matters enormously for publishers weighing whether to preserve physical SKUs or cut them in the name of margin and simplicity.
The question has grown more urgent than ever, particularly as physical gaming spending actually rose month-over-month in the United States during August. That bump was driven largely by an explosion in game-key card sales tied to Nintendo’s Switch 2 launch, with players snapping up new releases and ports such as Elden Ring. The phenomenon demonstrates that demand for tangible access codes and boxed media can spike dramatically around major hardware moments.
Sony’s decision to rip the band-aid off its disc-driven model has drawn continued scrutiny, and the move now feels more open than ever to potential re-evaluation — particularly if Xbox unexpectedly chooses to preserve some version of physical gaming for its family of next-gen Project Helix devices. A competitive divergence on media format could reshape the entire industry’s approach to ownership.
Looking Ahead
As PlayStation continues toward a digital-first horizon, estimates like these will likely be scrutinized by executives deciding whether to honor remaining collector demand or fully commit to the online-only future. The physical market may not dominate sales volumes again, but data from Wolverine and September’s top sellers makes clear that it is far from dead — at least not yet.
For now, players who value owning their games will still find plenty of boxed options on store shelves, while analysts watch closely to see whether the next wave of first-party releases can sustain momentum or whether this represents a final flourish before the discs disappear entirely.
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