Sony has seemingly declared war on physical media with the announcement that it will no longer produce physical PlayStation games starting in 2028. As a result of its decision, any PlayStation games sold in physical stores from that year onwards will only come with digital download codes, rather than a Blu-ray disc.
It means that consumers will have to download games directly from the PlayStation Store, though the change only pertains to newer titles. Older titles released prior to January 2028 will still be sold in physical disc format, the company said.
The announcement is a hammer blow to the broader physical media industry, and comes just days after Rockstar Games confirmed that the upcoming Grand Theft Auto VI game, set to launch later this year, will only be available through digital downloads on the PS5, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S.
Sony drew further ire earlier this week when it announced that the end of its content licensing agreement with Studio Canal means that it will withdraw access to a staggering 551 movies and TV shows currently sold through the PlayStation Store. What’s particularly grating about that announcement is that when the content is withdrawn from the store, it will also disappear from the libraries of users who have already paid for them. Those customers won’t be getting any compensation either, even if they only paid to access a movie last week. Come September, they’ll never be able to watch it again.
The announcement was a stark reminder of the reasons why so many people are against digital content. Fact is, when you pay to download a movie or a game, you’re not buying it. What you’re paying for is a license to view that movie or play that game, and that license is not permanent – it can, and often will be, withdrawn at some point in future.
This makes Sony’s decision to stop selling physical PlayStation games even more concerning, for it means that gamers will never actually own the titles they’re paying for. There’s no guarantee whatsoever that they’ll be able to play the game forever.
Bizarrely, Sony says that its decision is in line with what consumers want and need. In a blog post, it said “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. This transition will enable us to align more closely with how most of our community prefers to access and play games today.”
Sony may insist it has consumer’s best interests in mind, but the reaction to its announcement suggests that couldn’t be further from the truth. There were more than 6,000 comments in reaction to Sony’s blog post, and the overwhelming majority reacted negatively to it.
“Do not like this, I’ve always preferred physical to digital,” said one user. “Shame on you Sony,” said another. “Revert this decision right now,” said another. “We own literally nothing now but licenses; this is a horrible decision, Sony,” added a fourth.
The announcement was even mocked by Domino’s Pizza, which sarcastically posted on X that it’s ending physical pizza sales in favour of digital slices that people can imagine eating.
The negative reactions are completely understandable, for the decision not only hurts gamers, but will likely also put another dent in the sales of films and TV shows on 4K Blu-ray discs. That’s because the PS5 is almost certainly one of the best selling Blu-ray players in the world right now. These days, hardly anyone bothers to make them, with Sony and Panasonic being the only major electronics brands still operating in the market. But with the exception of a minor refresh last year, neither of those companies has launched a truly new 4K Blu-ray player for almost a decade.
Given that it can also play 4K Blu-ray movies, the PS5 has been a lifeline for fans of physical media, even if it lacks features such as Dolby Vision HDR. However, Sony’s decision almost certainly means that the next generation of the console, the PlayStation 6, will not have anywhere to insert a physical disc. Sony has already tested this concept in the shape of the PS5 Pro, which came without a disc drive and required users to either download games only, or buy a separate disc drive and link it to the console.
It now seems that the PS5 Pro was likely an effort by Sony to test consumers’ reactions to the idea of a console that forgoes the optical disc hardware, and strengthens the belief that the forthcoming PS6, slated to launch in 2027, won’t have a drive either.
The lack of physical media options is bad, bad news, not only because of the risk that access to purchased titles can be revoked at any moment, but for other reasons. For one thing, it means no more lending new games or movies to a friend, or selling them on the second-hand market so you can afford to buy a new title you want. Those who prefer to buy second-hand games for budgetary reasons will no longer be able to do that either – from 2028, you either pay the full price or you go without. Neither games nor 4K Blu-ray movie discs are especially cheap.
While it’s true that digital content sales are growing, one can’t help thinking that a large part of that is because consumers increasingly have fewer opportunities to buy physical media. Moreover, it’s likely that many are simply ignorant of the fact they’re only buying a license and not the actual product, and will be in for a nasty shock one day.
When you buy a physical disc, you own that game or movie outright, and no one can take it away from you, and certainly not without paying you compensation. But from 2028, gamers will no longer have that option, and it suggests that cinephiles who want physical media are increasingly going to be sidelined too.
