Infinity Ward Veteran Claims Publishers Pushed Digital Shift Since 2007

Robert Bowling, who worked at Infinity Ward from 2006 to 2012, stated that Activision floated the idea of stopping physical game disc production in 2007 during the development of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. He claimed that game publishers have been pushing to cut discs for nearly two decades to maximize profits and fight resellers. Bowling stated that publishers are the only ones pushing to cut physical discs because they want to increase profit margins and reduce production costs.

According to Bowling, an Activision executive reportedly suggested that going entirely digital would allow them to avoid the resale conversation and control the market for their games. The executive also suggested that stopping disc production would help them evade the disc fee charged by Xbox and PlayStation. Publishers attempted to convince GameStop to share revenue from second-hand games, but failed, leading them to try cutting discs instead. Bowling criticized publishers for pushing the business side of the industry while ignoring the impact on gamers' lives.

Sony has announced a plan to cease disc production as of 2028. Bowling stated that this decision is due to a shift in consumer habits where more gamers buy digital games over physical ones. Sony argues that purchasing a digital game from the PlayStation Store does not constitute ownership but rather a revocable license. PlayStation founder Ken Kutaragi defended Sony's decision to cut discs, claiming it is a "mentality issue" if gamers are upset. More than 387,000 people signed a "Don't Kill the Disc" petition in response to Sony's decision.

Activision did not immediately respond to Decrypt's request for comment regarding the claims made by Robert Bowling. Bowling co-founded Midnight Society in 2021 to build a crypto extraction shooter called Deadrop but left in 2025 due to funding running dry. He is currently the studio head of //18.bravo, which is developing a first-person shooter.