Dan Houser: companies should provide games on disc if fans want
Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser says he is not personally invested in disc releases, but believes companies should still offer physical games if players want them. Speaking to IGN at San Diego Comic-Con about Absurd Ventures, he weighed in amid debate over Sony ending PlayStation disc games from January 2028.
Key Takeaways
- Dan Houser told IGN that if fans want games on disc, companies should provide that option.
- He stressed he does not personally care much about discs, while praising digital updates for game quality.
- Former Rockstar colleague Lazlow Jones said physical copies still feel special, but digital downloads win for travel convenience.
- The remarks land as Sony plans to stop PlayStation disc games from January 2028, and fans debate boxed releases.
The comments come from an IGN conversation covered by Video Games Chronicle, where Houser and Lazlow Jones discussed physical media while promoting Absurd Ventures. For more celebrity and industry flashpoints, see our Celebrity Breaking News hub.
What did Dan Houser say about games on disc?
Asked whether he cared about seeing games released on discs, Houser kept his answer practical rather than nostalgic.
“I don’t know that I care, but if people want that, I think companies should provide it,” he said. “But I don’t know that I personally care. And I also think that the ability to update games – as critical as people are of digital releases – the ability to update and fix problems in games has been really useful for the quality of games.”
He later added that he loves physical media, pointing to Absurd Ventures’ American Caper comic—suggesting books more than game discs—and said he thinks everyone does.
Why do Houser’s comments matter right now?
Houser co-founded Rockstar Games and was lead writer on nearly every Grand Theft Auto title through GTA V, plus Red Dead Redemption, Bully and Max Payne 3, before leaving in early 2020. He is no longer involved with Rockstar or GTA VI, so his views do not set that studio’s policy.
Still, his name carries weight in a heated ownership debate. Sony has said physical disc games for PlayStation consoles will be discontinued from January 2028, a move that has drawn fierce pushback. Separately, reporting around Grand Theft Auto VI’s retail edition—a box with a download code rather than a playable disc—has left collectors hoping publishers rethink physical plans.
Did Lazlow Jones agree on physical versus digital?
Jones, the former GTA radio writer who also left Rockstar in 2020 and joined Absurd Ventures, split the difference.
“I mean, we all have that sort of feeling when you get that copy and you put the disc in the console,” he said. “But I also have to say I really like being at the airport and going ‘oh cool, I can download some quick games to my Steam Deck for this 12-hour flight’.”
He also said making a physical comic after years in digital games feels creatively different and fulfilling—an “I made a thing” moment Houser echoed.
Houser’s line is clear: discs may not excite him personally, but demand should still be met. With Sony’s 2028 timeline looming and fans watching major launches, that consumer-first stance is what made the Comic-Con exchange travel.