F1 25 has suddenly become an unexpectedly hot commodity, but only if you’re shopping in physical stores. A Reddit user on the r/F1Game subreddit pointed out how the price of second-hand physical copies in the UK nearly doubled in the last week. Allegedly, prices jumped from £25 to almost £50 in some stores like CEX. The reason? EA officially announced that F1 26 will not be a full standalone release, and instead a DLC-style expansion for the existing F1 25.
This obviously reignites interest in the current game for a wider audience, as F1 25 is now the last full annual entry until F1 27. Stores like CEX are likely trying to capitalize on this interest now. Fortunately, you can still get the game much cheaper if you buy a digital copy. The game is currently 50% off ($34.99/£34.99) on PlayStation, Xbox, and Steam ($29.99/£29.99).
Physical Prices Climb, Digital Prices Drop
The contrast in prices of second-hand copies of F1 25 and digital copies highlights how both markets operate differently. For a lot of retailers, physical games appear to be opportunistic products: either marked up aggressively when demand briefly rises, or sold off cheaply to clear shelves. The days of physical games holding stable value are pret ty much gone. Unless, of course, you have a real collector’s item, then the value goes sky high.
But, generally speaking, the reality is that fewer people are buying discs, and most sports game player now get their titles digitally. It’s just much more convenient when you only buy one sports game a year, want to pre-order it, and don’t have to wait around for getting the physical copy shipped. Physical copies are more about collectability now, not so much about utility. The following Reddit comment echoes a similar idea:
“CEX is notorious for unreasonable markups on everything. Just buy digital.”
I don’t reside in the UK, but from what I’ve learned, CEX is a British video game retailer that is sort of notorious for these practices. Some of them seem to be similar to Gamestop’s strategies of old: marking up old second-hand games when interest climbs and aggressively pushing trade-ins at poor value. But physical video game stores are becoming irrelevant quickly these days, so I’m not going to bother bashing this British brand too much. What this really shows is how physical sports games now live in this strange space between collectable, disposable, and occasionally overpriced.
