The game disc is going away, at least on PlayStation. Sony is set to end production of physical discs for all first-party and third-party PlayStation games on January 2028, according to a new PlayStation Blog post first previewed by Game File. Games released prior to 2028 will continue to have physical versions, but everything that comes after will be digital-only.
“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,” the company wrote. “This transition will enable us to align more closely with how most of our community prefers to access and play games today.”
While the overwhelming majority of all new games are now sold digitally, many fans still prefer to own their games on discs. The end of discs doesn’t necessarily preclude Sony and other companies from still selling game boxes in brick-and-mortar stores. They would just only have download codes inside, similar to this fall’s Grand Theft Auto 6.
It remains to be seen if the PS6 will even have a disc drive, either built into the console or as an optional external attachment. While Sony has not confirmed the device’s features yet, many have assumed it would be backwards compatible with the current generation of games, including their physical disc versions.
The decision is a nightmare for collectors and preservation advocates who have long criticized the limits of game ownership when it comes to digital versions. Storefronts shut down and purchases can even be revoked, as in the case of 2024’s Concord, which Sony unreleased just weeks after it launched.
With “all digital content, including games, movies, and music, players are purchasing a personal license for non-commercial use,” a Sony spokesperson noted to Game File, a reminder that players don’t have the same rights over digital purchases as they do with physical ones. Just last week, Sony deleted hundreds of movies users had already purchased from their libraries.
But the incentives for game makers are clear. Physical games cost extra money to produce and can be shared or traded in at stores like GameStop. Only offering digital versions of games would effectively kill the second-hand market for games that has thrived for decades.
Many companies have already been slowly making the shift away from physical formats for their games. Microsoft has been offering codes in boxes for certain releases for years, or offering discs without the full game on it, forcing anyone who uses it to download the whole thing digitally anyway. And the launch of the Switch 2 ushered in game key cards, which are effectively just glorified download codes.
Unlike single-use codes, though, at least the game key cards can still be shared and traded. It doesn’t sound like Sony is considering any similar compromise for physical media on its upcoming PS6.
