Sony pushes ahead with killing game discs by 2028 despite backlash

Sony confirmed on July 31, 2026, that it will proceed with its plan to end physical disc production for new PlayStation games by January 2028, despite significant backlash from its gaming community. Chief Financial Officer Lin Tao said during an earnings call that the company “put in a lot of thought and time” before deciding to “cautiously move this forward.” He cited the digitalization of content as “the big factor.” The plan, announced earlier in July 2026, has already led Sony to repurpose its disc-manufacturing headquarters for optical microlens production. Critics argue the shift will undermine resale markets, game ownership and media preservation. A weeklong PlayStation content blackout is scheduled to begin on August 23, 2026. Sony’s latest earnings underscore the trend: physical game sales brought in just over $781 million in the 2025 fiscal year, while digital game sales hit about $6.5 billion and in-game purchases reached about $8.4 billion. Tao noted that digitalization is affecting all content sectors. “It’s not just for PlayStation, but for all kinds of content, digitalization is progressing,” he said.