Walmart ditches Starfield stocks: end for discs

Walmart appears to be discontinuing the sale of physical copies of Bethesda's highly-anticipated RPG, Starfield, signaling a potential shift away from physical game sales. While previously being a staple for video game retail, Walmart, following Best Buy's earlier decision to stop stocking physical media, is now considering halting the sale of physical games. Although not officially confirmed, this news fuels discussions about the future of physical game distribution as digital sales continue to rise. Screenshots from the Me@Walmart app instructed employees to dispose of Starfield copies, even listing these copies at an unbuyable price of $0.03, pointing towards a digital-focused sales strategy. This move might be a response to the growing trend of players choosing digital downloads or services like Xbox Game Pass, and could be a sign of broader changes to come across the retail landscape for video games.

Currently, it seems that Walmart is specifically removing physical copies of Starfield from their stores. However, internal discussions at Walmart suggest that they are considering discontinuing all physical game sales in favor of digital distribution, although this has not been officially announced.

Starfield is an open-world RPG set in space, developed by Bethesda Game Studios, known for creating the critically acclaimed Elder Scrolls and Fallout series. Scheduled for Xbox Series X/S and PC, it is one of the most anticipated games in recent years. Starfield aims to offer an expansive universe for players to explore, filled with new worlds and dynamic storytelling, and it represents Bethesda's first new intellectual property in decades, making its retail strategy a significant point of interest within the industry.