Sony PlayStation will only be available as a Digital Edition from 2028
Following Rockstar’s announcement that Grand Theft Auto VI will be released exclusively digitally, Sony has unveiled an even more ambitious plan to completely eliminate physical media. The company announced that, starting in January 2028, the production of physical media for all new games on the PlayStation platforms will cease.
Simply put: All games released for PlayStation consoles after January 2028 will be available exclusively digitally via the PlayStation Store or as a PlayStation Store code from other retailers. This applies only to new games, not to games that have already been released or will be released before January 2028.
The company cites consumer preferences and general changes in the entertainment industry as the reason for this decision. Sony claims that the majority of its community prefers to purchase games digitally.
Physical media have been a selling point for game consoles from the very beginning. The ability to buy a game and simply insert it into the console to play it has always been the main reason for the appeal of consoles.
Previously, PlayStation games could be shared or resold.
However, it was also undeniably a thorn in the side of game publishers and platform operators like Sony, because unlike digital codes, physical media can be shared, passed on, or resold. It’s not uncommon to share a PlayStation game with friends, sell it after playing to recoup some of the cost, or buy a used copy from someone else. Brick-and-mortar retailers could also discount games at will to boost sales. This kept game prices low, and publishers and platform operators had no further influence on sales figures after the initial purchase—something they clearly disliked.
Besides the ability to share games, physical media also allowed for ownership of the purchased game. You could truly own it by holding it in your hands and having permanent access to it, without the fear of it disappearing from an online store. Furthermore, they enabled unlimited play. Even if the game developer, the platform operator, or the platform itself ceased to exist in the future, you could always play the game as long as you had a working console and a physical copy.
For years, publishers and platform operators have tried to devalue physical media discs. Firstly, by avoiding releasing games on physical media altogether whenever possible, or by offering only an incomplete version on the disc, requiring users to download the rest online. In that case, it was easier to simply buy and download the entire game online.
Over the years, there have been several attempts to obtain physical media for games. It is now generally known that publishers and platform operators cannot be relied upon to uphold the ownership rights to purchased digital games or to preserve them for posterity.
A good example of this is Sony’s announcement that, in parallel with the discontinuation of physical games for current and future PlayStation platforms, the PlayStation Store on PS3 and PS Vita will be shut down this year. While downloads of existing purchases will still be possible (only new purchases will no longer be supported), Sony has only given a vague indication of how long this will last.
How long this will take could be tomorrow, next month, next year, or even five years from now. Nobody knows, and that’s precisely the problem. This is why digital stores and purchases made there are untrustworthy: you never truly own anything, and the platform operators can (perfectly legally, mind you) remove content from the library, shut down the store, or simply shut themselves down at any time.
Unfortunately, the average consumer made the decision based on their budget. Sony wasn’t exaggerating; most people prefer to buy their media online these days. PC gamers have been doing this for decades, as companies long ago realized that physical media couldn’t be offered on this platform without being immediately copied and pirated. As we know, this effectively ended piracy on PC, and no games have been illegally distributed since.
But back to consoles: Here, things are a bit different. Only the respective platform operators distribute the games for their platforms. This means there’s hardly any incentive for high discounts, and since physical media is eliminated, there’s no longer any risk of simply getting a used copy on eBay or from friends.
In short: Physical media are dying out, at least when it comes to games. Sony may be the first to announce the death knell, but you can be sure that the next consoles from Microsoft and Nintendo will also no longer offer physical media.
