Sony said Wednesday that it would stop releasing new video games for the PlayStation on disc in January 2028 following a shift in consumer preferences.
“Following this date, new games will be available on PlayStation Store and at retailers in digital formats only,” the company said on its official PlayStation blog.
In practice that means gamers will have to download directly from Sony’s PlayStation store or will obtain a download code when purchasing a title from a retailer.
The announcement comes as the upcoming exclusively digital release of “Grand Theft Auto VI”, which is predicted to become the biggest-selling cultural product of all time, has caused some consternation among gamers.
There was grumbling on social media that the lack of a physical disc would eliminate any second-hand market for the title.
Sony said the upcoming shift “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,” the company said.
“We remain committed to delivering a world-class gaming experience to our fans,” it added.
“I’ll admit, even I, the guy who won’t shut up about digital taking more and more market share each year, am surprised to see this happen so soon,” said Daniel Ahmad at Niko Partners, a video game market research firm.
Sony began its move towards digital downloads in 2020 with the release of the latest console, PlayStation 5, that had a version without a disk drive.
Ahmad said Sony’s announcement “pretty much confirms PS6 will be digital only.”
The release of the next generation console could come as soon as next year although high prices and shortages of key components could delay its launch, according to industry players.
