Bloober Team CEO Piotr Babieno says the Silent Hill developer wants to keep producing physical games for as long as the changing industry allows.
Silent Hill developer Bloober Team wants to keep making physical versions of its games “for as long as possible”, despite the industry’s accelerating shift towards digital releases.
Speaking to GamesRadar, CEO Piotr Babieno said physical games remain an important part of how players connect with developers, particularly as improvements in graphics and audio become increasingly incremental.
Babieno argued that many players are also perfectly happy with older hardware, suggesting that technical advancements aren’t necessarily what makes a game more engaging.
He said: “The majority of players are playing on hardware which is five, seven years old, if not older. But are they less interested in games because of that? I don’t think so.”
Instead, Babieno said developers should think about the other senses involved in gaming, particularly touch and the physical experience of owning a game.
He said: “I think the physical element of gaming will always, always be there.”
The comments come as physical media faces increasing pressure from major publishers.
Sony has announced plans to end physical PlayStation game releases from 2028, while Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto VI will reportedly launch without a traditional game disc.
Babieno acknowledged the financial appeal of digital distribution, admitting that “digital distribution is much easier, much cheaper, and will be more profitable for everyone”.
However, his personal experience as a game collector has made him reluctant to abandon physical releases.
He said: “Collecting games also [made] an emotional connection between the game and me, between the studio which produced the game and me. This little emotional touch is so important that, I think in some way, we would lose the opportunity of being closer with our fans [without it].
“So, if we are able to produce a [physical] retail version of our games, we would like to make them for as long as possible.”
Broken Mirror Games executive director Tymon Smektala, who joined Bloober earlier this year after working at Techland, shares that enthusiasm.
He described game collecting as a fundamental part of his relationship with the medium and said he would continue supporting physical releases while they remain possible.
Bloober’s Silent Hill 2 remake launched physically on PlayStation 5 alongside its PC release in 2024.
The studio is also developing a remake of the original Silent Hill, although its release date remains unknown.
Whether that game arrives before Sony’s planned 2028 transition remains unclear.
For Bloober, however, the message is straightforward: if it has the choice, physical games aren’t going anywhere just yet.
Silent Hill studio determined to make physical games ‘for as long as possible’
