Sony to permanently stop physical disc production for PlayStation in 2028

Following Rockstar's announcement that Grand Theft Auto VI will be a digital-only release, Sony has come forth with an even more ambitious plan to kill physical media forever. The company has announced that starting January 2028, production of physical disc games for new games will be ending for all games releasing on the PlayStation platforms. In simpler terms, every game launching on PlayStation consoles after January 2028 will only be available digitally through the PlayStation Store or as a PlayStation Store code through other retailers. This applies to new games only, and not for games that are already out or will be releasing prior to January 2028. The company cites consumer preferences and broader entertainment industry shifts as the reason for this decision. Sony claims most of its community prefers to purchase games digitally.

Physical media has been a selling point for game consoles since the very inception of the platform. Being able to purchase a game and simply sticking it into the console to play it has always been the driving factor for what made consoles so appealing. Aside from just being able to share it, physical media also allowed you toownyour purchase. Own it truly, by being able to hold it in your hands, and having access to it forever without worrying about it disappearing from some online store. It also lets the media be played into perpetuity, so even if the game publisher, platform owner, or the platform itself goes away in the future, as long as you have a functioning console and a physical version of the game, you can always play it. For years, publishers and platform owners have been trying to devalue the physical disc. First, by simply not launching the game on physical media whenever they could, or by providing an incomplete version on the disc, so you have to connect online to download the rest. At that point, you may as well purchase and download the whole thing online. There have been several movements over the years to try and preserve physical media for games. It is well-known at this point that publishers and platform owners cannot be trusted to maintain ownership of purchased digital games, or preserve them for posterity.

Source