Sony to End Physical Disc Production and Close Down PlayStation Store
- Sony will stop making physical PlayStation game discs from January 2028.
- The move has sparked backlash over game ownership and preservation.
- Sony says digital now dominates, with 85% of PS4 and PS5 game sales being digital.
In a move that’s only surprising on the surface, Sony has announced that it will cease to make physical discs for PlayStation games starting in January 2028. This news also follows an announcement from Sony that it will discontinue the PlayStation Store for PS3 and PS Vita in select markets this year, with a global rollout next year.
Sony’s decision has been met with, unsurprisingly, a huge pushback from gamers, game preservationists, and others within the video game industry. GOG is one of the most vocal, with Does it Play? and noted game analyst Pirat_Nation all weighing in under Sony’s post on X today. It was on the official PlayStation blog, however, where the main news was announced regarding physical discs:
“As consumer preferences and the broader entertainment industry continue to shift away from physical discs to digital, physical game disc production for all new games releasing on PlayStation consoles will be discontinued starting January 2028. Following this date, new games will be available on PlayStation Store and at retailers in digital formats only. This transition has no impact on games that already released, or will be releasing, prior to January 2028 in disc format.”
Jump to:
The Death of Ownership
As the Stop Killing Games initiative keeps hitting roadblocks, including losing by just three votes in its recent attempt to pass a relevant bill in California, more attention is being paid to the idea of video games as licences. While this has technically been true for quite a while, the fact players could still own a physical disc with the game on it rendered (offline) game concerns a moot point. It’s only with the relentless surge of live service and online games that the risk of having something taken away with no notice has increased.
For Sony’s part, the company added that “This is a natural direction for Sony Interactive Entertainment to adapt to consumer trends as the general preference for digital media significantly outpaces physical discs. This transition will enable us to align more closely with how most of our community prefers to access and play games today.”
Which is backed up by data: according to page 12 of Sony’s earnings report, by the end of last year 85% of game sales on PS4 and PS5 were digital. And this number has gone up, with it typically averaging around 75% each financial quarter. This, unfortunately, puts those arguing against Sony’s decision in the vocal minority.
Boycott PlayStation
Some players have already leapt into action calling for others to boycott PlayStation, and even boycott GTA VI (as it’s not being released as a physical edition). The latter likely won’t come to pass, given the all-consuming cultural juggernaut of the thing, but Sony’s plan has been met with reasonable pushback from known names in the industry.
Does it Play? were one of the first to respond, with: “You are killing ownership. You are killing legal preservation. You are killing discoverability. You are killing publishers. You are killing developers. This is a move that might slightly improve bottom lines, but tear down every other aspect of this medium. Well done! You f*d up!”
Gaming YouTuber The True Seal (Seal Examines Games) also replied to Sony’s news with “Then stop selling digital games for the same price as physical ones too. You’re removing the printing, box, and shipping prices from the equation completely so I shouldn’t be paying $70 for digital games anymore.”
GOG were also quick to remind gamers that it’s been focused on game preservation for a while:
Even if a game vanishes from the GOG storefront, it never leaves your library.
— GOG.COM (@GOGcom) July 1, 2026
Exactly as digital ownership ought to be.
Lost In Cult also joined in with “As a company on a mission to preserve video games, we are deeply saddened by the recent news from PlayStation on ending physical disc production from 2028. We aim to do everything in our power to preserve video games to the best of our ability and will continue to do so for as long as we can.”
The Future of Physical
It remains to be seen whether the other two (Xbox and Nintendo) of the Big Three will follow suit, although it might not be surprising if Xbox does, at least, given its recent push to reduce costs, increase revenue, and claw back some of its relevancy within the industry.
There’s also no word on how this will affect companies known for physical distribution, such as Limited Run, Silver Lining Direct, or Lost In Cult. One thing that has been suggested and looks likely, though, is that Sony’s decision will help sound the death knell for game shops, as these often rely on trade-ins and secondhand sales.
