Former Blizzard Head Backs Players: Digital Future Needs a "Trust Agreement"

Former Blizzard President Mike Ybarra called the industry's shift to digital inevitable

Mike Ybarra, former president of Blizzard, commented on the discussion about the digital future of games after Sony's financial report was published. According to the report, 82% of games on PlayStation are now sold digitally.

Ybarra admitted that he has a great fondness for physical editions and would like them to continue. However, he noted that statistics show most players already prefer digital versions.

The former head of Blizzard noted that the 82% figure came as a surprise to him. He recalled that once, surpassing the 50% mark was considered a significant milestone. In his opinion, the console market is gradually following the path of PC, where discs virtually disappeared more than a decade ago.

Amid Sony's plans to abandon physical media by 2028 and an even higher share of digital sales on Xbox and PC, Ybarra considers the transition to "digital" inevitable. At the same time, he called for the creation of a "digital trust" system that would guarantee players that purchased games would remain in their libraries and not disappear due to changes in licensing agreements.