As the industry marches toward an all-digital future, the studio behind the Silent Hill 2 remake is planting its flag for physical media. Bloober Team CEO Piotr Babieno has declared the developer wants to keep making physical versions of its games “for as long as possible”, pushing back against the disc-less direction taken by giants like Sony and Rockstar.
Silent Hill 2 (Credits: Bloober Team)
Graphics Have Peaked — Touch Is the New Frontier
Speaking to GamesRadar, Babieno argued that gaming has hit a visual ceiling. “We have reached a moment where you can’t really do much more” in terms of visual and auditory fidelity, he said, questioning whether slightly higher resolutions and better lighting actually make games more engaging. “I don’t think so.”
He pointed to data showing that the majority of players are gaming on hardware five to seven years old — if not older — and asked the obvious question: are those players any less interested in games? His answer was a firm no.
Instead of chasing pixels, Babieno says Bloober is “thinking about other senses.” With AI now able to generate what players see and hear, he believes the next frontier is touch — and that philosophy is already shaping the studio’s new Nintendo Switch 2-exclusive 2.5D horror game, Onyx: The Dark Group, developed by Bloober subsidiary Broken Mirror Games. The goal, as he puts it, is “putting horror back in your hands.”
Defending the Disc in a Digital Age
The comments land at a flashpoint moment for physical media. The debate has become a hot-button issue in the wake of Sony’s decision to kill disc releases for PlayStation games and Rockstar’s disc-less approach to Grand Theft Auto 6 — moves that have left collectors and preservationists worried about the future of game ownership.
“As humans, we have four other senses, and AI can deliver something for what you see, for what you hear, but why not touch?” Babieno said. “I think the physical element of gaming will always, always be there.”
To his credit, the Bloober chief is not blind to the economics. He admitted that “digital distribution is much easier, much cheaper, and will be more profitable for everyone” — a candid acknowledgment from a studio head actively choosing the harder path anyway.
With the Silent Hill 2 remake behind it and an original Silent Hill remake currently in development, Bloober Team has become one of horror gaming’s most important studios. For fans who still want to hold their games in their hands, Babieno’s promise is about as good as it gets.
Also Read: Tenebris Somnia Blends 2D Pixel Horror With Live-Action Cutscenes — and It’s Already On Sale at Launch | Silver Pines: 2D Silent Hill-Meets-Alan Wake Horror Is At Its Lowest Price Ever
Source: IGN — read the full story there.
