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Earlier today, stories were swirling regarding EA’s alleged decision to stop shipping physical games in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The news, which first surfaced on German website Games Wirtschaft, was picked up by many major gaming websites. Our initial assumption was that something had been lost in translation, and it turns out that’s the case.

In a statement, the publisher said: “We have not stopped physical distribution of our games in Germany, Austria, or Switzerland and players will continue to be able to buy our games from retailers across the region. Recent reports stating otherwise are an inaccurate reflection of disclosures made in EA Germany's statutory financial statements.”

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Effectively, the publisher is restructuring its Cologne branch, but it doesn’t sound like this will have any impact on the distribution of physical games in the region. Prior reports had claimed that it’d “no longer generate sales with packaged goods”, but it’s possible it’s simply outsourcing that aspect of its business to a third-party, like Koch Media who has worked with subsidiary Codemasters in the past.

Ultimately, the company is clear that it will not stop shipping physical games. This is important because, while the original story centred specifically on German-speaking territories, there was concern that it could eventually apply the same philosophy worldwide. And when you’ve got Activision effectively shipping Blu-rays with 70MB on them to retailers, it’s a legit worry.

[source gameswirtschaft.de, via eurogamer.net]