Summary
It looks as thoughWalmartwill begin throwing out physical copies of Xbox Series X console exclusive gameStarfieldstarting early next week. With the rise of digital media, physical media sales have been steadily shrinking. Major retailers have started pulling out of the physical media business entirely, withBest Buy recently ending its sales of DVD and Blu-Ray discs.
There have been rumblings that Walmart is preparing to make its way out of the physical media business as well. A report from last year suggested thatWalmart was going to stop selling physical Xbox games, and now there is more evidence to back up those claims. Some Walmart employees have shared memos on social media revealing the order to dispose of Xbox Series X console exclusive gameStarfield.
According to the memo, Walmart is going to mark down physical copies ofStarfieldfrom $69.99 to $0.03 starting Monday, January 22. A “point of sale block” is planned to go into effect that same day, meaning customers will not be able to actually purchase the game. However, it’s possible some could get lucky and manage to snagStarfieldfor next to nothing regardless of the point of sale block. In any case, the plan is to gather copies ofStarfieldand dispose of them by Monday, February 5. While it’s possible this memo has been faked, reliable insider Wario64 said that they saw the same memo from another source.
As far asStarfieldgoes, this development doesn’t have any bearing on the game’s future. The vast majority ofStarfieldplayers purchased the game digitally, either through Steam or Xbox, or played the game using their Xbox Game Pass subscription. Regardless of Walmart allegedly getting rid of the game’s physical copies, Bethesda still has big plans to support the game throughout 2024. Ahuge newStarfieldupdate is currently being beta testedon PC before rolling out to the masses, and there’s also the game’s first major DLC to look forward to as well.
While details remain scarce, Bethesda is working onStarfield’s Shattered Space expansion. Time will tell exactly what Shattered Space brings to the table, but fans will find out more information in the months ahead.
Beyond moreStarfieldupdates, the future will also bring with it the continued demise of physical media. This isn’t great forgame preservation efforts, but it’s an inevitable consequence of the rise of digital media.Starfieldis the start, but one has to wonder how long it will take for Walmart to move completely away from selling physical media at its stores.
