While Playstation gamers currently have the choice to either buy physical copies or download digital versions of games, Sony has officially announced that they will be discontinuing physical disc production for games starting on January 9, 2028. According to the company, this complete digital transition will not have any effect for games that have been planned to release before this date. However, going forward in 2028, games will be available for purchase through the online Playstation Store.
This decision is sure to upset many who are collectors of physical media and plan to do so for future consoles. Sony says this controversial move is being made with the intention of following consumer trends, as they claim that digital download purchasing is significantly outweighing the purchase of physical game discs.
This news comes on the heels of the announcement that the greatly anticipated release of Grand Theft Auto VI will not have a disc for those who buy a physical copy. They will instead receive a code in their box, which will allow them to download the game.
Many commenters in the announcement are showing a lot of concern with this decision, especially since Sony customers will no longer have access to over 500 film titles that they have purchased digitally through the online store. This includes movies like The Evil Dead, Evil Dead II, Apocalypse Now: Final Cut, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and the first three Rambo films. Streaming for these movies are discontinued for licensing issues and those who have made the purchases are now out of luck
The reactions to this new game announcement cite that Playstation customers are now subject to the same kind of temporary ownership. They worry that they are at the whim of license agreements, and that what they purchase, they will not be able to truly keep access to.
It stands to reason that future Playstation consoles would probably also discontinue the disc drives on the machines themselves. Backwards compatibility is already a feature that many sorely miss and if you want to play past games, your best bet is to break out your old console or to find one for you to buy. And if you’re a 4K movie watcher, it is also likely that future Playstation consoles may not give you the opportunity to view your library going forward without a 4K disc player.