PlayStation presses ahead with plan to ditch discs despite backlash

Sony is not backing down from its decision to ditch physical game discs for PlayStation, despite fierce criticism from some users and game developers.

GTA VI sounded the death knell for physical game discs in June, and PlayStation's official announcement that new games will no longer be released on discs from 2028 came the following month.

The decision has faced fierce criticism from some groups of gamers and game developers who still make money from physical game sales. Sony's own game studios have been relatively quiet, with the exception of Naughty Dog, which has indicated that it does not support the decision.

 Also read: PlayStation killing game discs will have wider consequences


Sticking to the plan
Despite the criticism and a #PSBlackout boycott organized by users calling on others to stop buying digital PlayStation games and urging them to cancel PlayStation Plus subscriptions, Sony is continuing as planned.

The packaging of recently manufactured PlayStation 5 consoles now carries the following warning (translated): "IMPORTANT NOTICE From Jan, 2028, newly released games on PlayStation will be available tor purchase on PlayStation Store and at retailers in digital format only. Discs for games released before Jan. 2028 can continue to be played on this console."

A similar warning has also started appearing on retailers' PlayStation 5 product pages.


During Sony Corp's latest earnings call, Chief Financial Officer Lin Tao commented on the decision:

-"Regarding this point, we announced that from January 2028, we will no longer manufacture game discs. That is a year and a half from now. We chose to make this announcement now. There are various reasons why we made this decision. The biggest reason is that the digitalization of content in general is progressing. That is the decisive factor. This applies not only to PlayStation, but to all forms of content where digitalization is progressing. Looking to the future, we have thought about this extensively and spent a long time considering it, and we carefully considered the decision. We have reached the conclusion that we will implement this change cautiously. We have received various reactions to this decision, and many people have strong opinions, and we understand that the community has expressed these views. Games are loved by many people. They are a form of entertainment that many people care about and, in many cases, are associated with fond memories. We understand these feelings, and we will take them into consideration. We will continue to explore how best to involve gamers in the future digital ecosystem. Thank you very much."


You do not own digital games
One of the main reasons some gamers want to hold on to game discs relates to digital ownership, specifically the fact that you do not actually own the digital games you "buy" from the PlayStation Store.

PlayStation itself recently reminded buyers of this fact in an email about updated terms of service: "The Software is licensed to you, not sold," it stated.

The terms also state that PlayStation has the right to delete all your digital games after 3 years of inactivity on your PlayStation account. This is not related to GDPR laws.