PlayStation has announced that it will scrap physical games from January 2028.
The gaming giant says that all new games released on PlayStation after this date will be available exclusively as digital downloads.
That means you will only be able to get games for your PS5 from the PlayStation Store and at retailers in digital formats – bringing the era of discs and cartridges to a screeching halt.
Sid Shuman, Senior Director, Sony Interactive Entertainment Content Communications, wrote in a blog post that this decision was being made in ‘response to shifting trends in consumer preference.’
He continued: ‘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.’
The transition will have ‘no impact’ on games that are already released or releasing prior to January 2028.
Likewise, Mr Shuman insists that the change enables PlayStation to ‘align more closely with how most of our community prefers to access and play games today.’
However, avid gamers have been outraged by the announcement, with one declaring on X: ‘The golden days are so over.’
PlayStation has made the shock announcement that it will scrap physical games for PlayStation from January 2028
Even though PlayStation says the changes won’t come into effect for over a year, the move seems to reflect major changes happening within the wider gaming industry.
The announcement comes after video game developer Rockstar Games sparked controversy by revealing that GTA 6 would not be available in physical form.
The hotly anticipated game is available for pre-order at £69.99, with a more premium edition costing £89.99.
However, even though fans can purchase a ‘physical copy’, the box will contain a redeemable download code rather than a disc.
This irked many die-hard fans, who had been looking forward to getting the disc for their own collections or to share with friends after they played it.
PlayStation, which is owned by Sony, now appears to be following suit and moving away from physical copies altogether.
Piers Harding-Rolls, games industry analyst at Ampere, described the decision as a ‘watershed moment for the industry’.
Writing in a blog post, Mr Harding-Rolls continued: ‘Console gaming is the last hold-out for physical media in the gaming sector, but physical product has been declining in importance.
The announcement comes after video game developer Rockstar Games sparked controversy by revealing that GTA 6 would not be available in physical form
‘Back in 2013 when the PS4 launched, Ampere data shows that only 13 per cent of total full games unit sales for Sony consoles were digital… fast forward to 2025, and this digital share of full game purchases stood at almost 80 per cent of the total.’
While Mr Harding-Rolls noted that there would ‘inevitably’ be concerns from some PlayStation fans, he argues that the ‘purchasing trends of gamers are clear’.
Yet despite the majority of gamers exclusively using digital downloads, there has been an outpouring of frustration on social media.
One commenter wrote: ‘This is wild. After decades of collecting, Sony is forcing everyone into a pure digital future. Feels like the final nail in the coffin for physical gaming.’
‘Genuinely you can go f*** yourselves if you think I’ll support you if you go through with this,’ added another.
While one outraged gamer simply asked: ‘What in the actual f**** are you all doing??!’
Meanwhile, a number of fans expressed concerns that a switch to digital gaming would leave them at the mercy of licensing agreements and restrict gamers’ ability to freely share or resell games.
This comes after Sony wiped hundreds of previously purchased movies from PlayStation users’ libraries without offering refunds.
PlayStation says that the decision was made in ‘response to shifting trends in consumer preference’
The company announced that ‘due to our content licensing agreements, you will no longer be able to access your previously purchased content from Studio Canal’.
From September 1, 551 movies will be removed from users’ libraries, leaving fans concerned that the same thing could happen to their games.
‘You are killing ownership. You are killing legal preservation,’ one social media user complained.
While another asked: ‘Right after pulling purchased movies from people’s libraries and announcing you’re taking down the PS3 and PSVita stores, you drop this?’
However, despite fans’ anger, the change might not all be bad news – especially for small indie game developers.
Currently, third-party publishers pay a royalty fee to Sony for each and every game disc produced on top of paying for the costs of the discs, their production, cases and covers.
These costs are normally bundled into a single charge, which places massive financial risks on developers before any profits start to come in from sales.
Mr Harding-Rolls points out that removing the need to make physical games ‘reduces publisher’s exposure to this inventory risk but also enables them to potentially realise better margin on sales of games through retail.’
This gives a clear indication that the console to follow the PlayStation 5 will likely not include a disc drive and probably won’t be launched before 2028 at the earliest
He adds: ‘Removing cost from the sales of games through retail is overall good for the industry as it battles to cover increases in other areas, such as development and staffing budgets.’
Additionally, this announcement from Sony is a very clear indication about the future of the long-expected PlayStation 6.
It is now absolutely clear that this next-gen console won’t have a disc drive, likely making it extremely difficult to play previous-gen games.
Sony has been looking for ways to reduce the production costs of its consoles as the price of gaming increases, and ditching the disc drive is an easy win.
Analysts also suggest that the PS6 won’t arrive until 2028 at the very latest, with Ampere predicting its launch at the end of that year.
