Sony has decided physical PlayStation games can shuffle off to the museum, leaving ownership to die behind a login screen.
According to the Financial Times, the company will become the first major console maker to stop producing new physical games, marking the end of an era for Sony and the games industry. In an announcement, Sony said that “physical game disk production of all new games releasing on PlayStation consoles will be discontinued starting January 2028.”
Sony said it was following consumer trends, as demand for digital media “significantly outpaces physical disks.”
The decision triggered an online backlash from PlayStation fans who still like owning the things they buy. Others pointed to the second-hand market, where gamers can buy cheaper copies without needing Sony’s digital shop to smile upon them.
Analysts said the move was hardly shocking, despite the noise from a vocal minority. Digital sales have accounted for more than 80 per cent of games sold by Sony in recent quarters.
Bernstein games analyst Robin Zhu said: “If gamers and preservationists had bought more physical games, Sony wouldn’t have seen the digital sales ratios that justify this decision.”
“Digital game sales carry essentially 100 per cent incremental margin… the cost of the physical package, shipping and retailer margins can be more than 20 per cent of sticker price,” Zhu added.
In other words, disks are messy, shops take a cut and plastic boxes do not magically turn into margin. Digital sales keep more cash inside Sony’s trousers, which is usually where these brave visions of the future begin.
The move is a first for a legacy console maker. Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony have kept physical game options alive until now, mostly because gamers are sentimental about ownership and occasionally enjoy lending things to mates.
Valve’s Steam platform is already fully digital, with PC gaming having dumped physical games ages ago. Analysts expect the rest of the industry to follow, because once one platform holder finds a fresh way to fence customers in, the others usually start measuring the timber.
Sony’s decision follows Rockstar’s announcement that the next Grand Theft Auto will be digital only. The game is expected to give Sony and the PlayStation a hefty shove when it launches in November.
