EA has announced that Origin will no longer be offering physical copies of games from the 4th April.

From Friday onwards, the digital platform will only be offering people download versions of games on their store for PC and Mac.

The announcement came in a blog post on Origin entitled “A Fond Farewell to Discs!” In the post, Origin said: “What does this mean for you? If you’re among 99% of our users, absolutely nothing. Your shopping experience hasn’t changed one single bit.

“But if you’re that 1% who still desires a physical collection, we want to let you know that Origin won’t be able to fulfill that need beginning April 4th. We’ll still be here when you transition your gaming habits to the wonders of digital downloads.” They added.

The reasoning behind the shift to download-only was detailed by the company as being because: “Digital is fast and convenient. Origin’s focus is to give gamers the best experience, and going all-digital will make that possible.”

Origin was launched in its current form is 2011 as an alternative to popular digital outlet Steam, again with a focus on the digital market, but still offered the option of a physical product.

What are your thoughts on Origin’s shift to a purely digital site? Is it a positive move forward for the platform or do you think it will cause more harm than good? Are you part of the apparent 1% who will have to find somewhere else for your physical games and if so where will you go in future?