35% of Wolverine Sales Were on Disc, Analyst Data Reveals

Did you buy Marvel's Wolverine on disc or download it? You're not alone either way, but new data shows a hefty chunk of players still prefer physical. According to Ampere Analysis (via The Game Business), 35% of Wolverine's sales were on disc. The game sold 2.16 million units in September after launching on September 15, so that's a lot of boxes.

In Europe, the split leans even more physical: 51% of sales were boxed. But drill down and it gets wild. In France, more than two-thirds of sales were physical. In the UK, the opposite—two-thirds went digital. Clearly, habits vary a lot by region.

This all lands right after Sony's controversial announcement that it will phase out physical disc production for PlayStation by 2028. That sparked an online backlash, with some organizations calling for a U-turn. The Video Game History Foundation said, "If platform owners are deciding to eliminate physical media and older digital storefronts, then we'd also like to see trade groups like the Entertainment Software Association offer meaningful solutions for archives and museums to legally preserve digital-only content and make it accessible for research."

Even former PlayStation boss Shawn Layden questioned the move. "I do think, particularly in the gaming realm, maybe 80% of the people download and 20% don't, whatever that breakdown might be, but that's a super important 20%," he said. "I mean, that is largely the most faithful of the faithful, that is, many times, the people who buy two copies of every game, one never gets out of the shrink wrap, and you play the other one." But Sony isn't budging. In July, the company acknowledged "strong views" from the community but insisted it wouldn't change course.

Meanwhile, the biggest game of the year has no physical version at all. There are no plans for a disc version of GTA 6, and even the special edition contains a code in an otherwise empty box. So the trend is clear, even as some players cling to their shelves.

Back to Wolverine: it was the second best-selling PS5 game last month, beaten only by EA Sports FC 27. EA's soccer game moved close to 5 million copies on PS5 and 1.65 million on Xbox. How to Fish and Wardogs both outperformed Wolverine when you factor in PC. Wardogs hit nearly 3 million sales, boosted by word of mouth and viral clips of its combat sandbox.

Other September launches had a slower start. Control: Resonant sold 305,000 on PS5, Silent Hill: Townfall 291,000. But The Blood of Dawnwalker, the debut RPG from ex-Witcher devs at Rebel Wolves, did well with 1.8 million sales across all platforms.

So, where do you stand? Will you keep buying discs as long as they're around, or have you fully switched to digital? Let us know in the comments.