US President Donald Trump has announced a one-month exemption for most Mexican tariffs, which were previously discussed in an article by The New York Times. Analyst Mat Piscatella warns that the newly imposed tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China could lead to price increases and supply issues for video game software and hardware in the US.
The tariffs particularly affect physical game discs, which are mostly produced in Mexico. A 25% tax on imported discs could result in fewer disc-based games being released physically in the US. Piscatella predicts that this trend would accelerate, making disc-based releases a niche market. Instead of producing physical discs, some publishers might move to an all-digital strategy.
Analysts agree that game makers would pass most of the tariff costs onto consumers if they continue to produce physical discs. However, Piscatella thinks the tariffs could increase digital game prices to match higher-priced physical versions. To revive domestic production, US game disc manufacturing would require significant investment in a declining market segment.
Source: https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2025/03/thanks-to-new-tariffs-many-more-physical-game-discs-may-simply-not-get-made