One of Sony's two remaining optical disc production sites will be repurposed following PlayStation's decision to stop releasing games on discs.
Earlier this week, PlayStation announced that it will stop releasing new games on discs in January 2028, a decision that Microsoft is expected to follow with Xbox.
The announcement has led to widespread backlash, and while some users hope PlayStation will reverse its decision, that now appears unlikely as the decision is already propagating through the supply chain.
Optical disc plant being repurposed
Sony DADC (Digital Audio Disc Corporation) currently operates two optical disc production plants after discontinuing production at its last remaining – and historically by far its largest – US plant in Terre Haute, Indiana, in 2022.
Sony's primary production hub is in Thalgau, Austria, which currently produces 600,000 discs every day, including for PlayStation. Following PlayStation's decision, however, the plant will be repurposed for the production of microlenses, with Sony having invested €30 million to complete the transition next year. Microlenses are produced on optical discs.
- "PlayStation currently accounts for around 50 percent of our volume, of which around 20 percent are new orders. We are talking about approximately 10 percent of the volume in 2028," Dietmar Tanzer, CEO of Sony DADC, told ORF Salzburg.
Sony DADC also operates an optical disc plant in Tagajo, Japan, but in 2024 it cut 40% of jobs there and in January 2025 the plant stopped producing all forms of recordable optical media.
Broader consequences
PlayStation – and Xbox – are pushing toward an all-digital future for games, a shift that will affect the entire gaming industry in the coming years. It also pulls the rug out from under retailers such as GameStop.
While Sony is significantly winding down its optical disc operations, other plants continue to manufacture and press optical discs, so Blu-ray movies are safe for now.
Also read: UHD Blu-ray returned to growth in 2025
Still, it is another blow to physical media. LG most recently discontinued all of its UHD Blu-ray and Blu-ray players, following Samsung's decision in 2019 and Oppo's in 2018. That raises the next obvious question: How long will Sony's UHD Blu-ray players survive?
- Source: ORF Salzburg via The Verge
