Steelbook mini

[Life Is Prime]

Hurm...

I truly sympathize with what they're trying to achieve here. The existence of digital has made the gaming industry a much more approachable and creative space, and if you look around, you are sure to find a new studio and/or game that strikes your fancy.

If one is a critical hit, like Journey (last generation) and Shovel Knight (current generation), a physical edition may surface, but that isn't always the case. Digital is just much more cost-effective and a safer route to take for both a publisher and developer unless there is strong community support for such a product. Ori and the Blind Forest is getting a Definitive Edition, so it could get a disc in the near-future. Or maybe it will get a SteelBook Mini featuring special art and a download code (no scratching required if sealed).

I see this concept more fitting for games that are exclusively digital, and not DLC or season passes that a few months down the road may wind up in a Game of the Year edition (as long as the additional content is on the disc).

Personally, I don't know if this will become a hit or not. comiXology is a digital comics platform that offers digital variant covers, and as much as I would rather have a variant cover as a physical copy, it seems there is a market for digital versions.

The Behemoth had a neat idea where they made numbered Castle Crashers medallions that came with a digital code for the game. Although I don't have one (curses!), it is a cool bit of swag.