If you've been worried that Sony ditching disc-based PlayStation games would gut GameStop, Ryan Cohen has a message for you: relax. The GameStop CEO went on record this week calling Sony's all-digital push "totally, totally irrelevant" to his company's bottom line, and the numbers he's citing actually back that up.
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How GameStop stopped being a game store
Here's the thing: GameStop's identity as a video game retailer has been quietly unraveling for years, and the Q1 2026 financials make that clearer than ever. Software sales, which once defined the entire business model, now account for less than 12% of GameStop's revenue. Cohen put it bluntly in a Bloomberg interview: "Software, it mattered in the past. Software today makes up less than 12% of the business, and collectibles makes up over half the business."
That's a seismic shift. Collectibles, led largely by Pokemon trading cards, now represent over 41% of sales. The company that built its reputation on buying and reselling physical game discs has effectively become a collectibles retailer that happens to still stock some games.
Cohen also pointed to Q1 2026 operating earnings of $143 million, which he described as "the highest operating earnings in the company's history." Whether you take that framing at face value or not, the underlying business pivot is real and measurable.
Sony's disc exit and who it actually hurts
Sony's move to stop producing physical PlayStation discs has been one of the more divisive platform decisions in recent memory. UK retail groups have publicly condemned it, calling the decision a step backward for consumer ownership. Physical game advocates argue it erodes the second-hand market, limits access for players without reliable internet, and strips buyers of actual ownership over their libraries.
Those are legitimate concerns, and they're worth taking seriously. But Cohen's point is narrower: it doesn't hurt GameStop specifically, because GameStop already moved on.
For players who still care about owning a physical copy of a PS5 game, the implications are real regardless of what GameStop's balance sheet looks like. The question of what happens to your digital library if a storefront shuts down is one that platforms haven't answered convincingly. Check out what PS5-exclusive features are at stake with upcoming titles like GTA 6 in our GTA 6 PS5 exclusive features guide.
The bigger bets Cohen is making
GameStop's pivot to collectibles isn't the only headline Cohen has been generating. The company made a $56 billion bid to acquire eBay in May, a move eBay swiftly rejected, calling it "neither credible nor attractive." That bid signals Cohen is thinking well beyond retail shelves, even if the market isn't buying the vision yet.
The company has had its share of unconventional moves before. A GameStop NFT marketplace launched in 2022 and was shut down after just 18 months, a reminder that not every pivot lands. Cohen's media commentary this week leaned defensive too, with the CEO asking why mainstream outlets seem to want the company to fail.
What most players miss in all this noise is that GameStop's survival story is genuinely interesting on its own terms. The company shouldn't exist by conventional retail logic, and yet here it is posting record operating earnings by selling Pokemon cards and Funko Pops.
What this means for players watching the disc debate
The physical vs. digital conversation isn't going away. Sony's decision is one data point in a longer trend that every major platform is nudging toward: subscriptions, digital storefronts, and streaming over owned media. GameStop's CEO shrugging it off doesn't resolve the consumer ownership questions at the heart of the debate.
For players navigating these shifts, understanding what you actually get from platform-specific digital purchases matters more than ever. Our gaming guides hub covers platform features, digital ownership mechanics, and what to expect from upcoming releases across PlayStation, Xbox, and beyond. The disc debate will keep running, and knowing what you're buying into is the best move you can make right now.
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