Sony and Rockstar Games might be ready to close the lid on physical games, but the gaming market keeps saying otherwise. It’s no GTA 6, but Capcom’s latest Resident Evil has shown that plenty of gamers still want something they can actually put inside their console. In fact, nearly one-third of Resident Evil Requiem‘s PS5 sales seem to have come from physical copies.
According to estimates from Alinea Analytics, Resident Evil Requiem has now generated more than $500 million in revenue. The company expects it to eventually overtake the Resident Evil 4 Remake‘s $600 million, with Requiem already outpacing every other entry. Some reports said that the game itself cost around $100 million to make, with earlier claims that it’s Capcom’s ‘most expensive project’ so far.
PlayStation also seems to be leading the charge. It’s estimated that PS5 accounts for 48.1% of Requiem’s 8.5 million players, compared with Steam’s 43.4%. That means a whopping 1.2 million PS5 owners still picked up a physical copy.
Obviously, Requiem‘s numbers don’t suddenly mean physical games are taking back the market. Nearly 70% of its PS5 sales are still digital, after all. Sony, too, is preparing to wind down new games’ disc production starting in 2028. GTA 6‘s ‘unprecedented’ preorder numbers, when it won’t even ship with a disc inside its retail box, also show this major shift.
In terms of digital sales, though, Capcom has plenty of other things working in its favor as well. As Alinea’s analysis also suggests, well-timed discounts and Zach Cregger‘s latest hit theatrical movie helped push the needle. Requiem‘s price drop is said to have increased daily PS5 sales by 1.8 times before the movie arrived. Meanwhile, daily players are up across every Resident Evil game it tracks following the movie’s release, including a 20% bump for Grace Ashcroft’s first outing.
Physical games might be slowly heading for the grave. But judging by Resident Evil Requiem‘s performance, plenty of people definitely aren’t ready to bury them just yet.
