Starting in 2028, every new PlayStation game will only be available digitally. This is not a typo.
According to Sony, production of physical discs for new PlayStation games will stop in January 2028. As the company puts it, this is a “natural direction” for it to take.
“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,” reads the announcement.
“This transition will enable us to align more closely with how most of our community prefers to access and play games today.”
To play devil’s advocate, Sony isn’t entirely wrong. Digital sales have outpaced physical disc sales for some time now, and PC gamers already went through this transition many years ago for the same reason.
Still, one can’t help but feel pessimistic about all of this.
Digital versions of video games originally had the promise of being cheaper than their physical counterparts. With the move to digital, companies wouldn’t have to pay the likes of disc pressers and retailers – it would pass those savings along to the consumer.
Instead, what we have seen is the exact same prices for physical and digital versions of games. This lends to the feeling that Sony is simply making this move to make as much money as possible.
To be fair, that’s its right. Sony is a business, and a publicly-traded one at that. Its job is to make money for itself and its shareholders, feelings be damned.
It just doesn’t help that, between potential studio closures and layoffs at Microsoft, AI-centric data centers jacking up the prices of memory, and games becoming more expensive, the consumer is getting the shit end of the stick.
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