At the start of this week, I wrote about how the digital-only release of GTA 6 signalled the death of physical media. I didn't expect my diagnosis to be confirmed quite so fast. Within just three days, Sony has hammered the nail in the coffin: PlayStation games will no longer be produced on discs from January 2028.
Even if this had been on the cards for some time, the decision was bound to cause controversy. Any sane brand would have thought very carefully about how and when to announce it, and ideally not do so in the same week they had just justified customers' biggest fears about digital-only media.
Instead, it feels like Sony said, to hell with it: everyone's going to hate us this week, so let's get all the bad news out of the way at while people are distracted by GTA 6.
Important updates: News on physical discs for new games - https://t.co/BzZODXdWGYNews on PlayStation Store on PS3 and PS Vita - https://t.co/ev3mN6wj14 pic.twitter.com/PWXTZGHAh6July 1, 2026
Sony broke the news in a dry announcement on the PlayStation blog, which it linked to on social media posts headed "important updates".
From January 2028, new PlayStation games will be available in digital formats only. Sony stresses that the transition has no impact on games already released prior to that date, but I think we can assume that the PS6 won't come with a built-in disc drive, potentially limiting your options for how you play said games in the future.
While the original PS5 was released in both digital and disc versions, the more recent PS5 Pro (below) is an all-digital device, with the option to buy a separate PS5 Disc Drive Attachment.
The writing had been on the wall for physical game releases, but Sony's decision to break so much controversial news in the same week is pretty bizarre from a brand comms perspective.
On Monday, the company published a one-sentence legal notice announcing that over 550 movies and TV shows sold through the PlayStation Store would be permanently deleted from customers' libraries on 1 September. That's due to expired licensing agreements with StudioCanal. Customers will not receive refunds.
Yesterday, in parallel to the news about the end of physical discs, the company announced that it's closing the PlayStation storefront on PS3.
In April, there was another controversy around PlayStation's Digital Rights Management (DRM). Changes mean that newly purchased digital games for the PS4 and PS5 issue a temporary licence that requires buyers to connect to the PlayStation Network within 30 days to verify the game and convert it to a permanent, offline licence.
Issues like this are one of the main reasons some gamers are so fiercely opposed to digital-only media. They reignited the debate about whether digital purchases are truly owned or merely rented under restrictive licences.
There was perhaps no good moment to announce the news, but the clumsy timing and Sony’s unapologetic messaging increases the risk of eroding the good will of loyal customers. Unsurprisingly, gamers have a lot to say about it, and what many are saying is that they no longer see a reason to choose PlayStation over a PC.
"After more than 30 years with Sony, I’m switching to PC. With no physical games, there isn’t a single valid reason to stay with PlayStation instead of buying a PC. Sony has officially killed its own appeal," reads a typical comment on X. "If buying isn’t owning, piracy isn’t stealing," is another refrain that's coming up a lot.
You'll pay the same price as before except now you won't own shit! No discs, just empty boxes with codes. When playstation removes your games from the catalog like they are in the process of doing with 500 paid movies you'll get nothing. You'll own nothing. https://t.co/ry0aLGuxUwJuly 1, 2026
- Future of your digital library is up in the air- “Closed Garden” digital means no incentive to push deals- Preservation of titles becomes questionable- You aren’t going to see cheaper MSRPs with this move.There’s literally no benefit to the consumer in removing physical. https://t.co/VR1mbUdm1ZJuly 1, 2026
I think one of the shittiest parts of this news is that it means you probably won’t be able to play your PS4/PS5 discs on PS6. I can’t imagine it has a disc drive.you’ll have to buy digital versions of all the games you already own for backward compatibility. Evil!!July 1, 2026
Bought the disc version of PS5 to avoid having to use Sony exclusively for games just for them to discontinue discs. Oh they got the jump on my ass alright pic.twitter.com/d5tnYyr5noJuly 1, 2026
What will happen to milions of gamers who bought physical discs on their PS5 and 4 they just go fuck themselves if they wanna buy the PS6 no seperate drive no nothing just fuck you for supporting and buying videogames for over a decade? So fucking EVIL it's unbelievableJuly 1, 2026
So either Sony:▪️Sells an optional PS6 disc drive (lol)▪️Somehow allows you to transfer your discs into digital on PS6 (lol...lmao even)So I'll keep the PS5 plugged in or these become nice coasters pic.twitter.com/X0TNmlvepYJuly 1, 2026
Yeah this totally sucks. They will eventually try to blame this decision on the handheld, but the reality is, they want you spending more money on games, with less consumer choice.Don't take my word for it! Look at the prices of physical vs digital on PSN for older titles. https://t.co/Lnc7X8ekrO pic.twitter.com/1rpUogbjvgJuly 1, 2026
End of an era. pic.twitter.com/EKT7yuAU5wJuly 1, 2026
Digital media has some clear benefits. It uses less physical space and saves the resources used to produce discs and boxes. Some argue that discs are already obsolete. PCs did away with them around a decade ago, and most AAA games require servers or updates and get additional DLC.
But digital has disadvantages too. Players need enormous amounts of drive space, driving demand for expansion cards as the price of memory is rising, and digital-only games eliminate lending and the used market.
Sony said consumer preferences and the broader entertainment industry are shifting away from physical discs to digital, and described its decision as the "natural direction" that will enable it to "align more closely with how most of our community prefers to access and play games today."
