David Jaffe, the designer behind God of War and Twisted Metal, has offered his explanation for Sony's move away from physical media on PlayStation, arguing it comes down to unavoidable financial pressures rather than an anti-consumer conspiracy. In a YouTube video, Jaffe said blockbuster game development now routinely costs upwards of $300 million, and that phasing out discs is a response to that reality rather than a deliberate scheme to harm players.

Jaffe pointed out that physical sales now make up only a small fraction of the games industry, reinforcing his view that discs are becoming commercially unviable for publishers. Destructoid's writer acknowledged that development costs have indeed become unsustainable, but argued that consumers are being made to bear the consequences, since dropping physical formats lets publishers control pricing and eliminate the second-hand market, while job losses in the industry continue regardless.