Not a rumor or speculation. PlayStation is officially ending physical disc production. That news comes directly from Sid Shuman, Senior Director of Sony Interactive Entertainment Content Communications.
On the PlayStation Blog, Shuman says the company made this decision because customers have continued to shift away from physical discs to digital.
To that end, “physical disc production for all new games releasing on PlayStation consoles will be discontinued starting in January 2028,” says Shuman. After that date, new games will only be available in digital format on the PlayStation Store and at retailers. Games released or due for release on disc before 2028 won’t be affected.
“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,” says Shuman. “This transition will enable us to align more closely with how most of our community prefers to access and play games today.”
Today’s announcement might be shocking, but it isn’t all that surprising. In PlayStation’s 2025 Q4 financial report (via Genki on X), the company stated that 85% of games sold on the platform were purchased digitally. This is a trend we’ve seen across all gaming consoles over the past decade, with acceleration during the pandemic.
Given this news, it’s safe to assume that the yet-to-be-announced PS6 won’t have a disc drive. The same might also be true for the upcoming Xbox Project Helix, which is reportedly going to be a midway point between a console and a PC. Speaking of PC, that platform has been all-digital for ages as well, showing that gamers are generally already used to not owning physical copies of their games.
We reached out to Stop Killing Games (a consumer rights group) for comment about this story. They said gamers want assurances that their games won’t be taken from them after purchase, and that decisions like this only serve to erode that trust.
“Digital games in themselves are not a problem and have multiple advantages for both parties when run responsibly, giving customers the freedom to back up their game sometimes in ways better than physical copies,” says Stop Killing Games. “When handled irresponsibly, they're a death sentence for games, which is what has led to the Stop Killing Games movement in the first place.”
Lastly, PlayStation also says it is closing the PS3 and PS Vita digital stores. Closures start this August in select markets and will happen globally by July of 2027. You will still be able to download previously purchased games after the closing dates "for the foreseeable future." If you want to purchase any PS3 or Vita games digitally, do it now before those stores are closed for good.
This is certainly devastating news for fans of physical games. If you fall into that camp, there isn't much you can do when the time comes. However, I expect companies like Limited Run Games to release physical versions of PS5 games even after this policy goes into place, so that is at least one option for select games. But for the PS6, it appears there won't be any choice but to play games digitally.
