Video game publishers could opt to no longer release physical versions of their games as a result of the newly-imposed tariffs by US President Donald Trump, an analyst has suggested.
Trump is now implementing a 25% tariff on goods imported from Mexico and Canada after weeks of threatening to do so, and has also confirmed an additional 10% tariff on products form China on the back of the previously confirmed 10%.
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Mexico and China are major regions responsible for the production of physical video game releases as well as consoles, and therefore the tariffs are likely to have a large impact. Mat Piscatella of Circana has stated that the bump to importing goods from Mexico could mean that publishers may look to distance themselves from physical releases going forward.
PIscatella posted the following in response to Daniel Ahmad of Niko Partners, who noted that the 25% tariff on Mexico would impact physical games, while the China tariff affects consoles, smartphones, GPUs, and more.
Very small piece of all this, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see physical games that would be subject to tariffs simply not get made, with [publishers] moving to an all digital strategy. What a mess.
The sales of physical games have dwindled in recent years, particularly during the coronavirus pandemic lockdowns, where users flocked to digital releases for convenience.
[Source – Mat Piscatella on BlueSky]