Game publisher EA would stop selling physical games in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. It is unknown if other companies will launch physical versions of EA games. EA will stop importing and selling games. That would be shown by the not publicly available annual report of the German division of the game publisher. The physical sales of games may not generate the most revenue worldwide, but for local offices it does: the revenue from downloads goes to parts of the company from other countries. In addition to the annual report, this can also be seen in the description in the German commercial register, which now only speaks of “services related to video games”, instead of “import, export, distribution and sale of games”. The game publisher is said to have ended contracts with retailers this year and is still planning few physical releases. Also, the office would shrink sharply as a result of the move. EA has not confirmed the move. The adjustment has not been made in the Dutch commercial register. It is unknown whether EA would also like to stop selling physical games in countries other than Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In a response to Gamesonline and VGC editor Andy Robinson, among others, EA denies that it is suspending the sale of physical games in Germany: “We have not stopped the physical distribution of our games in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Players can continue to purchase our games from retailers across the region. Recent reports claiming otherwise are a misrepresentation of the information in EA Germany’s annual report.”
