Kyle Orland at Ars Technica writes about the expanding trend of physical console game discs and cartridges that require internet connectivity to play, as tracked by the DoesItPlay organization:

Thus far, a full 27 percent of the physical releases they’ve tested require some sort of download to fix game-breaking bugs or obtain core game content that is not stored on the physical release itself. That ratio balloons to 34 percent for tested PS5 games and 50 percent for those on the Xbox Series X.

Often, the downloads are necessary and welcome bug fixes; sometimes it’s essentially the entire game that needs to be downloaded. In some cases, even an otherwise fully playable game is hampered by mandatory (and seemingly unnecessary) internet access checks.

There’s simply no assurance that a game you buy on physical media will work without needing to download more content, nor that it’ll continue working if it relies on a company’s servers to function.

In the here and now, having to download additional patches to play a “physical” game is more often a minor annoyance than a massive headache. Eventually, though, the centralized platform servers containing those crucial patches will shut down, turning countless game discs into essentially unplayable coasters.

The disc is no longer the game. I understand that physical media is trending the way of Furbies, mullets, and the Macarena, yet I continue to believe in owning the media I enjoy. Purely digital downloads and mandatory internet access are the inexorable future—if not the current reality—which I wouldn’t mind as much if game publishers were required to place their servers and content into escrow as a hedge against their (eventual) demise. I’d mind even less if I could still buy a physical disc and have the complete gaming experience, even if it cost more.

The monkey’s paw curls.