We’re not at any kind of crisis point.

Blu-ray discs are still perfectly usable. A quad-later Blu-ray could still hold a modern AAA title like Call of Duty, and a good many indie titles. Maybe it won’t be able to hold GTAVI, but we’ve put games on two discs in pretty much every console generation.

After AAA games get too big for Blu-rays, there’s still flash memory. Nintendo has been using flash carts for two console gens with no problem; there’s no reason Sony and Microsoft couldn’t design their own flash cart slot. The nice thing about those, you probablynever have to change compatibility due to file size ever again; since flash memory is always getting smaller. And if you design the physical object correctly, you can leave room for a lot of extra chips.

But that’s not all. Nobody would be complaining about the end of hard copies if the publisher just gave you the files to do with as you please. No DRM, no “anti-cheat” crippleware, no day one updates that finish the actual game, no launcher.

Deliver that via online service, add some retro game preservation projects, and now you’re a Good Old beloved pillar of online game storefronts.