PlayStation Ending Physical Game Discs in January 2028 - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 01 July 2026 / 9,356 Views
Sony Interactive Entertainment announced it is ending physical game disc production for all new games released on PlayStation consoles starting January 2028.
Starting in January 2028, all new games release on PlayStation consoles on the PlayStation Store and at retailers will be in digital formats only.
"As consumer preferences and the broader entertainment industry continue to shift away from physical discs to digital, physical game disc production for all new games releasing on PlayStation consoles will be discontinued starting January 2028," said Sony Interactive Entertainment Content Communications Senior Director Sid Shuman.
"Following this date, new games will be available on PlayStation Store and at retailers in digital formats only. This transition has no impact on games that already released, or will be releasing, prior to January 2028 in disc format.
"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.
"We’ll continue to prioritize our resources to drive innovation in how players can access games and provide choices as to where players prefer to purchase new games, whether that’s at retailers or PlayStation Store. We remain committed to delivering a world-class gaming experience to our fans and we thank you for your continued support."
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can follow the author on Bluesky.
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Just a few days after they remove all those purchased movies from people's libraries. I hope they sink as fast as they seem to be begging for.
Honestly I hope this happens more often so we can actually get some laws changed...
It happens so infrequently that people move on and forget
In this case I think it'll affect too many people; the price-fixing coming up on PSN and a very likely 800$/€+ PS6 will kill their sales and they'll have to do something about it.
There is gonna be a lot of backlash over this decision. I'm sure of it.
And it will probably look like the L4D2/MW2 Steam boycotts.
Enough to force them to change course.... like they did with the PS3/ Vita store closing a few years back?
And now those stores are closing... for real this time. I dont think they will change course on discs. They already see more people get digital anyway. There is no leverage the users can use against them.
Yeah, I don't think they'll change course on the PS3/Vita stores this time. Maybe they will change their mind on physical copies, but I'm doubtful about that right now.
Bro……the number of players who ONLY buy physical on PlayStation……..this is unbelievable
I would imagine that it's 20% that get the majority of their games physically. And I would imagine that half of them will drop Sony entirely because of this. Also people that buy physical games tend to buy on day one so it would be a large 10%+ drop in sales revenue for them.
Not only that, but what does this mean for backwards compatibility for PS6 now?
BC for physical disks won't be supported I bet. Also I wonder if Sony will pull support for physical copies of Anime too.
Where are they gonna go? They are going to drop Sony entirely and go where? I was one of the people complaining about Key Cards and Sony was the place to go to get many games just because they had an disc physical option. So where the hell am I supposed to go now?
Retro Games and your own massive unplayed backlog.
Yup. Retro. Starting with Atari 2600 all the way up to PS5, there's enough games to keep us happy for another five lifetimes. And in most cases, older games are better, anyway. We'll be good.
I think only a tiny % care about physical over the actual gaming/gameplay experience. For most it is a preference, but not a deal breaker. 10% is way too high. Without any alternative on PC or Nintendo, most would just frustratingly adapt.
Thus ends any future console purchase from PS for me. Was a fun ride through console generations for me. Nothing wrong with digital games but the value of owning physical games and collecting of games mattered most when console support is long gone and forgotten. The ps5 is my last console purchase.
^this is me as well. I think theyre underestimating how many there are out there with the same mindset
They're underestimating how many of us there are because physical sales are harder to track than digital sales. Also they underestimate how much money physical-only gamers spend compared to normal people.
Fair point.
Nintendo, Playstation and Xbox dropping physical media really makes things different.
This suck astronomical ass, and with Sony just having removed 500 digital movies or something this begs the question, what happens in like 2055 when they totally drop support for ps6, do my ps6 exclusive games that never got ported to future consoles vanish? Either way this sucks
An extremely rare instance where I read an outrageous story about some new gaming industry development, and find the outrage quite justified. Imagining a situation where Nintendo pulled this kind of stunt literally gives me chills… this is easily among the most controversial decisions in video game history.
(Though I think it’s obvious why they’re doing this: PS6 won’t offer a physical disc option nor will there be an attachable disc drive. For PS5 to offer third-party games in physical could create competition that Sony would likely want to avoid.)
Sad part is Nintendo is slowly heading in that direction with Key Cards. Hopefully we get one more generation from Nintendo that still supports proper physical.
Except that this is manifestly wrong : GKCs are the exact opposite of what Sony is doing: Sony is killing physical formats and preventing reselling, whereas Nintendo's GKCs ensure that publishers can continue to sell physical media that is resellable without the need for a very expensive card with limited storage.
It’s halfway where Sony is heading because you need to download the game from Nintendo servers still. Same thing you would do when downloading any digital game.
That’s why I said “slowly” because Nintendo is at least still giving an option, despite it being a glorified key in a box that you can actually resell.
Yeah you can resell them now, but it’s gonna be just as useless as a key in a box when a games server gets shutdown.
We can still redownload Wii games 20 years since they were released. Switch 3 will highly likely be BC with Switch 2 - it is very unlikely Nintendo will turn off the servers before I am 65. By then, all your CD based games will have rotted anyway. I still game on an Saturn and an OG Playstation but - guess what - I am not using my disc media anymore: I have modded these consoles too.
Imho, Key cards are almost as bad.
I mean, at least you can resell key cards, but that's it.
Eh. It’s not as though you can lose access to your GKC games if you e.g. violate TOS or lose access to your account. Nintendo has no way to strip you of ownership of your GKC other than shutting down their online servers completely (which even then you may still retain access).
And with that, the PS5 will be the last Playstation console i purchase. Sigh
Truly the end of an era... Also the end of the era of me owning a PS console. I'm not paying 1400$+ CAD for a PS6 to not be able to play physical games. My backlog could last me 10 years if I wanted, and there are tons of games I missed. I am good.
So for me, PlayStation dies in January 2028 - at least in terms of new releases.
Seems like gaming is over for me.
Sayonara Playstation. Hello there gaming PC...
Nice you just moved from a newly all digital platform to another all digital platform since 2010s. Problem solved
Yeah that really made no sense on leftalone's part haha. There hasn't been a physical PC release in like two decades... I guess one thing PC has that PS4/5/6 doesn't is GOG, which I thought allows you to fully download your titles and always reinstall them in the future (so long as you don't lose that ten dollar Walmart USB drive you stored them on ;) )
I'd say it absolutely does make sense. PC offers you freedom - you can buy the game on Steam, Epic, EA, Ubisoft, GOG, Xbox, battlenet, any of the key sites and if anyone takes your access you don't have to wait for a jailbreak to crack it. On PlayStation you're pretty much left with one digital storefront
No matter which store front you buy it there's still no disc at the end of the day. What freedom? It's like making yourself feel better you bought the empty box of cereal from 7 eleven instead of Costco.
While there's no disc or other physical media, if you buy at GOG you can actually download and install the games without the storefront app. As in, you get a digital copy that you can use and transfer to other people if you want to.
That would be piracy. The only way you can legit resell a game is reselling a console game.
This was expressly permitted by them in the past, so unless GOG changed their EULA in the meantime, (which would be understandable since it's not just Good Old Games anymore), it's cool
It's simple actually...
If you only can be full digital whatever the plateform, better game on PC. You can at least have free online access. Consoles are closed systems. You can play whatever update you want on PC. Also modding...
Pretty sick that even you guys don't get the point. Seems obvious to me...
Since some folks love throwing around who did what first to justify when others do it after, let me play the game:
It's thanks to PC that PlayStation is going full digital now.
Yeah, seemed obvious to me too. Obviously there's no discs on PC, the point is if we're being forced into digital we may as well go where being digital isn't awful like on PS.
As much as it's a bad word, but piracy on PC is going to be the de facto way of proper game preservation going forward.
Entire communities have ensured that "dead" games are still fully playable on PC.
It’s more that PS has lost the competitive advantage of being the platform where you can purchase physical copies for third-party games. This decision is certainly one that, if I had yet to have jumped to PC, would’ve sealed the deal.
PC is an open platform. There's competing stores despite Steam's dominance, backups are more or less possible, especially depending on your storefront choices, and backwards compatibility is almost guaranteed due to x86's dominance. Prices are always going to be better on PC because of that, and if you care about preserving access to games you've bought, you can do that on PC. That is simply not possible on consoles, because you're completely at the mercy of the console manufacturer.
I bought a bunch of games digitally on PS3 back in the day. Guess how happy I'm with my purchases now? Starting with PS4, it's looking better, but Sony provides no guarantee future consoles will continue to play those games. My backlog is gigantic, and I might end up playing games 10-20+ years from release, so all this really matters to me.
Which is where the "digital via retailers" will come in, I think. You get the game from Sony's servers just like you get Steam keys to buy from Steam but at the moment they don't allow games to be purchased digitally from other retails but do credit which is also directly integrated with their system (an API no doubt, I get discount credit from ShopTo.net for example, an official partner, it's always discounted). Retails could do the same with full priced games making Sony sticking to RRP look like the worst choice, so over time they start doing more discounts.... optimist on that mind you. :P
As for BC, yeah, a concern. Media changes and different consoles can make it so previous games can't be played. Wind Waker on Wii U whether physical or digital cannot be played on Switch and they have yet to release it again (oh and they will) but at least there is at the moment the option to play it if you want, buy a CG or Wii U and a copy of the game.
And there lies with issue with you last example, I'm currently in the process of buying old PS1 games, some on PS store, most not but I have the option because in the day that is all there was. If PS6 is digital only, and so is PS7 etc, how long until PS4/5/6 digital only games no longer get offered to purchase? There will have to be some kind of mandate that these games will remain on a server to be purchased, right?
This might be where governmental bodies come in, EU and UK at least will push for consumer rights the less options we have.
That's a fair point regarding 'digital via retailers'. We'll see how it turns out, but I too would estimate it to be likely to help. I think it's still not going to be as good as on PC, but it should already go a long way.
Personally I wouldn't hold my breat about any kinds of mandates or governments coming in. I too hope for the best, but I'll believe it when I see it. Until then, I'm going to assume the worst.
PC gaming is already practically digital only, though.
So do you currently play on PS5 now and plan on leaving? or are you just looking to troll and inject PC master race bullshit into today news? Because if you don't play on PS now then your opinion doesn't matter and you can take your Hello PC gaming notion elsewhere.
I'm not who you're responding to, but PC is my main platform, but I still got a PS5 fairly recently after having owned every single PS home console before that. Barring any surprises, PlayStation is effectively dead to me after PS5 (and also any new PS5 releases starting from January 2028).
I'm primarily a console player for the plug-and-play experience and the access to physical games. This allows me to resell them if I want, and it also makes me more conscious about the amount of money I spend on games.
To me, that's what really makes a console relevant compared to a PC. Why would I buy a console again if I lose that?
Consoles are now dead for me, oh well, I have tons of retro.
Looks like the PS5 will be my last PlayStation lol
Well, if PS6 has no way at all to play physical games (even PS4 and PS5) it's very likely over for me.
So they are waiting till Jan 2028 because in their mind, a year and a half is more than long enough for people to come to terms with it and eventually forgive their decision. Yeah right
I've got a new video going over this news and the news of PS Store on PS3 and PS Vita shutting down.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dn7DbtVvRwM
F sony.ita over for me
Sony 2013: PS4 will be able to play used games!
Sony 2028: Sorry, we don't do that here.
I mean, at that point, it will have been as long since E3 2013 as it was between E3 2013 and the release of MGS1 on PS1.
Sucks for sure, but we all know its coming sooner or later!
I'm guessing now the PS6 will be all-digital, and if it has a disc drive its only for backwards compatibility and to be a bluray player.
Meaning companies like Limited Run games will be screwed for next gen games and cant make physical PS6 games cause this disc drive could only run PS5 games and older.
Aaand this is why I have a massive backlog of physical games.
2028 we stop owning our own games... Within the next 20 years we won't even own our own console, we'll be renting them from some cloud based AI data centre that devours most of the planets RAM.
Farewell my local mom and grop shop- I don't think they can survive only on used retro games without new releases being added.
(facepalm)
GTA6 just asked for $80 / $100 pre-order of a case with no disc and gamers went in threw in their money no problem and made rockstar 3b dollars in 24h now they are gonna act shock and awe that other big companies are no longer bothering with shipping physical copies?
Would think this isn't up to them but the publisher? If Activision want to pay for a few million physical copies of CoD, let them.
This said they gotta do a whole lot more to be competitive in purchases too, physical allows for returns and exchanges, shops lower prices to get rid of old stock. No such thing in digital so pricing needs to be competitive else a whole lot of actual price fixing will occur. Hope governments step in to make sure they do all of this.
I Can just Hope that they have to Take it back like the PS3/PS Vita closure in 2021.
Ps3 and Vita store closures are happening between now and July 2027 (depends on the region and probably will be the next news article)
I know but they were supposed to
Close in 2021. After a huge backlash they cancelled it.
Utterly ridiculous. Whatever the next generation is going to be, they are going to have a rude awakening. How can they think they can compete in a digital only world when PC gaming is a thing?
A few months after having all my copies of Anthem deleted from my library I'm not feeling charitable.
Don't own? don't buy...
They gonna feel the players anger, just wait :)
More options for consumers is always best. Hope they reverse course.
To all the people thinking the backlash is going to make Sony change course. It won't. MS's next console wont have a disc drive either and i don't think Sony is worried about Switch 2. They have no reason to care
Unless it's 4D chess where SNY has every intention of backtracking but wants to try and bait MS into making XB jump completely into all digital only before Asha fully throws things in reverse back to OGXB/XB360 territory.
Wait, so it's only games from sony that is going digital, not all video games such as third party ?
well it currently says "all new games release on PlayStation consoles on the PlayStation Store and at retailers will be in digital formats only", .....they didn't specify all new Sony games but sounds more like for all games in general.
Sign the petition to make Sony stop! https://www.change.org/p/don-t-kill-the-disc-tell-sony-to-keep-physical-playstation-games?pubDate=20260702
Dark Souls only needed 100,000 signatures to get it ported to PC. Now the series has sold tens of millions of copies on PC alone!
A sad day for gaming
You what would be funny is if this whole ordeal ends up causing regulators to force them to allow sideloading games through alternative app stores like they did with apple in Europe. Because they wanted a few extra dollars they potentially lose from used game sales, they end up losing billions by being forced to allow steam to run on their system.
My face before and after this announcement looks exactly the same. I've been all digital even before the PS4, so whatever.
I'll probably continue buying consoles because it's just what I prefer but they better don't expect me to pay full price for digital games I don't own or can't sell. I'll wait for steep reductions before I make any purchase, unless I'm forced to, in which case I'll just switch to pc gaming and crack the h out of new releases.
GTA 6 was/is the battering ram.
Sony is slamming the door shut right behind it.
The sobering reality is that going by how long they actually wanted to keep the PS3 alive, we are looking at the PS4 store going offline in 2028. And to feel real old, the PS5 store is due to sunset in 2035.
A sad, sad, sad day for gamers!
Hilarious. I remember arguing with someone on this site recently that Sony doesn't care about physical games.
MS moved away first. But Sony is the company that pandered to fans of physical games. So it's pretty funny to watch.
The only physical games I have bought in recent years are for Switch.
There are a lot of amazing games on old hardware. I don't even understand why we're buying new hardware at all. I'd rather Nintendo release an SNES 2 and release amazing SNES quality games for it (Donkey Kong Country on the SNES is better than the newer stuff).
They release more expensive hardware, the games don't justify it, repeat. I'm done. I'm not an addict for new stuff, if I need to play games, I'll play PC decomps and recomps instead.
I guess the new consoles will be for the next generation that don't feel as I do.
its okay for you to feel a cetain way as long as you don't expect everyone to feel the same way as you.
I like retro games, but I don't prefer them over more modern games. It probably just nostalgia that you are feeling. Imagine in 30 years people will be looking back on this current period as the good ol days lol.
well yeah, i'm talking about myself, if a NEW game is good enough to play? it should work on my RTX 5060 then, i don't need an expensive console
i want resolution and frame rate, not modern graphics that are hard to render
i think games in the 360 generation looked better anyways, go play the Tomb Raider reboot with OLED and a modern GPU, it looks way better than PS5 games anyways
The end of an era.
Playstation, the last Paladin of physical media is no more.
Everybody start panicking immediately!
I'm not. Its a loss for peopel who want to resell games but I haven't bought a disc game for my PlayStation in like 5 years, maybe longer. I understnad people may be upset but I'm not gonna fake being mad when I am mostly all digital anyway except for my Switch and mainly because the internal space is so small.
