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Image: Jose Cordova

Sony will pull full game digital download codes from retail beginning 1st April, a leaked GameStop memo has revealed. This means that you’ll no longer be able to purchase the digital versions of full games from brick and mortar stores, although shops will continue to sell PlayStation Network credit in various denominations.

To provide an example, it means that you’ll no longer be able to purchase the digital version of, say, Marvel’s Spider-Man directly from a physical outlet. You will, however, be able to purchase $60 worth of PlayStation Network credit, and then buy Insomniac Games’ superhero title from the PlayStation Store. Why is it doing this? Control, we assume.

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In its memo, GameStop advises clerks to push customers towards physical copies if they’re looking to purchase a game digitally. There’s also an exception to the rule, where pre-orders for the digital versions of Mortal Kombat 11 and Days Gone will be honoured at GameStop stores assuming they are fulfilled within a week of their release date.

It’s unclear whether this new policy will apply outside of the United States, but we’ll check in with the platform holder and try and get some clarification on that for Europe. While this change is unlikely to affect a large number of customers, it does mean that gifting digital games is going to be significantly less elegant in the future – unless, of course, the organisation has a solution for that in the pipeline.

Update (26th March): Sony has confirmed it will stop selling full-game digital downloads globally from 1st April. As part of an official statement, the organisation said: "This decision was made in order to continue to align key businesses globally. To support full games and premium editions, SIE will introduce increased denominations at select retailers. DLC, add-ons, virtual currency, and season passes will still be available."

[source twitter.com, via eurogamer.net]