Following Rockstar’s announcement that Grand Theft Auto VI will be a digital-only release, Sony has come up with an even more ambitious plan to ditch physical media forever. The company has announced that starting in January 2028, production of physical disc games for new games will end for all games released on PlayStation platforms.
In simple terms, every game launching on PlayStation consoles after January 2028 will be available only digitally through the PlayStation Store or through other retailers as a PlayStation Store code. This only applies to new games, not games that are already out or will be released before January 2028.
The company cites consumer preferences and broader changes in the entertainment industry as the reason for the decision. Sony claims that most of its community prefers to purchase games digitally.
Physical media games have been a selling point for consoles since the platform’s inception. Being able to buy a game and simply stick it into the console to play has always been the driving factor in making consoles so attractive.
However, it has undoubtedly also been a thorn in the side of game publishers and platform owners like Sony, because unlike digital code, physical media can be shared, transferred, or resold. It’s not uncommon to share a game among friends, sell it to recoup some of the cost after playing it, or buy an old copy from someone else. Offline retailers may choose to discount games whenever they want to increase sales. This kept the cost of games down, and kept publishers and platform owners out of the loop after the initial purchase, which they apparently hated.
In addition to being able to share it, physical media also allows you to own Your purchase. Truly own it, by holding it in your hands, and using it forever without worrying about it disappearing from an online store. It also lets the media play forever, so even if the game publisher, platform owner, or platform goes away in the future, as long as you have a working console and a physical version of the game, you can play it forever.
For years, publishers and platform owners have been attempting to devalue physical discs. First, by not launching the game on physical media whenever possible, or by providing an incomplete version on disk, so that you have to connect online to download the rest. At that point, you can even purchase and download the entire thing online.
There have been several movements over the years to try and preserve physical media for games. It is well known at this point that publishers and platform owners cannot be trusted to retain ownership of purchased digital games or preserve them for posterity.
Case in point, almost comically, with the news of discontinuing physical games for current and future PlayStation platforms, Sony announced that it is closing the PlayStation Store on PS3 and PS Vita starting this year. While downloads for existing purchases will still be allowed (only new purchases will be paused), Sony has only guaranteed “for the foreseeable future” as to how long this will remain. That could happen tomorrow, next month, next year or five years from now. Nobody knows, and that’s the problem. This is why digital storefronts and purchases made from them cannot be trusted, because you never actually own anything and the platform owners can always choose (legally, we might add) to remove them from your library, close the store, or simply shut themselves down.
Unfortunately, the average buyer has spoken with his wallet. Sony isn’t lying about this; Nowadays most people prefer to buy their media online. PC players have been doing this for decades now, because companies realized long ago that you can’t offer physical media on that platform without it being immediately copied and pirated. Of course, as we all know, this immediately ended piracy on PC, and no games have been illegally distributed since. But when it comes to consoles, things are a little different. You only have the respective platform owners distributing the games for their respective platforms. This means there’s little incentive to offer deep discounts, and with physical media gone, people don’t have to worry about getting a used copy from eBay or a friend.
To cut a long story short, physical media is dying, at least for games. Sony may be the first to sound the death knell, but you can rest assured that the next Microsoft and Nintendo consoles won’t offer physical media options either. Be prepared to pay for everything, and own nothing.