Ethan Crossfield 
If you’re deciding whether to buy PS5 games on disc or digitally, a new price comparison suggests you may be overpaying on the PlayStation Store more often than you think—at least for many older titles. Here’s what the study found, which games were analyzed, and how to shop smarter.
What changed: a new disc-versus-digital price comparison
A recent study reviewed PS5 game prices across retail stores and compared them with the official PlayStation Store. The takeaway is straightforward: physical copies sold by retailers can be significantly cheaper than the same games purchased digitally.
While retail competition and discounts have long been part of the games industry, the price gap is becoming more noticeable as PlayStation continues moving away from physical media and encourages digital purchases. The study’s findings also align with broader industry discussion about why publishers may prefer an all-digital ecosystem—digital sales let companies keep the full price of first-party games, whereas physical sales require sharing revenue with retailers and still involve production costs.
In other words, the economics behind the shift aren’t new, but this new comparison makes the consumer impact visible: for many players, the “convenience” of digital can come with a higher bill.
Who’s affected: physical PS5 discs can be up to about $57 cheaper
The Dutch tech site Tweakers carried out the main analysis, comparing retail pricing to PlayStation Store pricing. It looked at 16 first- and third-party PS5 games that had received Game of the Year nominations since 2021, including titles such as Resident Evil 4 Remake, God of War Ragnarok, and Elden Ring.
Tweakers used its own tool to gather retail prices for those games and then compared them with the current PlayStation Store prices. In nearly every case, the physical version cost less by at least a few euros, with many games priced much lower at retail. Tweakers also noted that while the PlayStation Store has advantages, physical games tend to be the better option if your goal is the lowest price.
The broader implication for shoppers is that the disc advantage isn’t limited to a single publisher or a single storefront—it showed up across a mixed list of first- and third-party releases.
What comes next: US pricing mirrors the trend, but timing matters
Because Tweakers’ research focused on the Netherlands, GameRant ran a smaller US-focused check using the online price-tracking tool Deku Deals. It compared the lowest retail prices it could find against PlayStation Store prices for five popular PS5 games: Red Dead Redemption, God of War Ragnarok, Hogwarts Legacy, Elden Ring, and Spider-Man 2.
In GameRant’s sample, buying all five games at the best available physical prices would total about $162. Purchasing the same games digitally from the PlayStation Store was roughly $320, meaning digital options could be about 49% more expensive than discs in this limited comparison.
The study also highlights why this happens: many of the games included are a few years old, and that’s typically when retailers start discounting physical copies more aggressively. Meanwhile, the PlayStation Store generally keeps regular prices steady long after release. Digital deals do exist—especially limited-time promotions—but they’re described as short-lived, and for first-party games they’re relatively infrequent.
For players, the practical next step is simple: if you’re shopping for value, compare current disc offers at retailers against the PlayStation Store price before you buy—especially for older AAA releases.
What players should know
- In the Tweakers comparison of 16 nominated PS5 games, physical copies were usually cheaper than the PlayStation Store versions.
- A smaller US check by GameRant found a large total-price gap across five games (about $162 physical vs about $320 digital).
- Retail discounts often grow as games age, while PlayStation Store regular prices may stay higher for longer.
- Digital prices can drop during limited-time promotions, but these deals may be shorter-lived and less frequent for first-party titles.
| Region | Sample size | Result (physical vs digital) |
|---|---|---|
| Netherlands (Tweakers) | 16 games | Physical versions were usually a few euros cheaper, with many priced significantly lower than PlayStation Store equivalents. |
| United States (GameRant) | 5 games | Best physical bundle: about $162; digital bundle: about $320 (digital roughly 49% more expensive in this sample). |
Expert View
This study doesn’t claim every PS5 release will be cheaper on disc, but it does show a consistent pattern: when retailers discount physical media over time, digital pricing can lag behind—especially on the PlayStation Store’s regular prices. For value-focused players, the most reliable strategy is to treat disc purchases as the default option to check first, then confirm whether a digital promotion actually beats the retailer’s current deal.
