[[{“value”:”
Sony’s announcement that it will end production of all PlayStation game discs in 2028 hasn’t gone over well with fans of physical media. While the move might be an obvious one to make for Sony–digital sales account for almost 80% of its game sales on PS5 currently–the news still feels like it came from out of nowhere.
Coupled with Sony also confirming that it’ll be closing the PS3 and PS Vita storefronts next month, today feels like a solid reminder that you don’t own the game you just bought, merely a license to play it on that specific platform.
This will have a major ripple effect across the industry, as physical retailers like GameStop have long made their bread and butter on physical sales, both new and secondhand. Then you have people who swap games with each other or who prefer to obtain a tangible copy of a game so that they can feel some sense of ownership over it, or the consumers who don’t trust a company to keep the servers online forever–an idea that feels especially relevant in light of Sony delisting hundreds of digital movies from PlayStation user libraries last week.
Naturally, people have a lot to say about the shift to digital, and how it feels like the latest addition to a seemingly never-ending cycle of bad news.
Lately, things feel glum in the gaming industry. Alongside Sony’s future plans–which suggest the PS6 being a digital-only gaming console–Rockstar has also come under fire for its GTA 6 code-in-a-box plans, Microsoft is reportedly planning to close down several of its game studios, and an Xbox console is more expensive than ever before. But hey! At least you can get some PC games for cheap right now and use them to ignore the dismal state of things.
“}]]
[[{“value”:”Sony’s announcement that it will end production of all PlayStation game discs in 2028 hasn’t gone over well with fans of physical media. While the move might be an obvious one to make for Sony–digital sales account for almost 80% of its game sales on PS5 currently–the news still feels like it came from out of nowhere.
Coupled with Sony also confirming that it’ll be closing the PS3 and PS Vita storefronts next month, today feels like a solid reminder that you don’t own the game you just bought, merely a license to play it on that specific platform.
This will have a major ripple effect across the industry, as physical retailers like GameStop have long made their bread and butter on physical sales, both new and secondhand. Then you have people who swap games with each other or who prefer to obtain a tangible copy of a game so that they can feel some sense of ownership over it, or the consumers who don’t trust a company to keep the servers online forever–an idea that feels especially relevant in light of Sony delisting hundreds of digital movies from PlayStation user libraries last week.
Naturally, people have a lot to say about the shift to digital, and how it feels like the latest addition to a seemingly never-ending cycle of bad news.
Even if a game vanishes from the GOG storefront, it never leaves your library.
— GOG.COM (@GOGcom) July 1, 2026
Exactly as digital ownership ought to be.
So either Sony:
— Shinobi602 (@shinobi602) July 1, 2026
▪️Sells an optional PS6 disc drive (lol)
▪️Somehow allows you to transfer your discs into digital on PS6 (lol…lmao even)
So I'll keep the PS5 plugged in or these become nice coasters pic.twitter.com/X0TNmlvepY
This really hits hard right now… It looks like Wolverine is going to be one of the last PlayStation Studios games to be released on disc.
— GermanStrands (@GermanStrands) July 1, 2026
Laufey, Intergalactic and maybe some unknow game… pic.twitter.com/Vc2OaxtEHV
They’ll never take my Dragon’s Lair II: Time Warp laserdisc. Checkmate Sony.
— Kris Moyse (@krismoyse.bsky.social) 2026-07-01T13:21:16.137Z
Imagine the sales pitchSony PlayStation 6Digital only, $1000, no more backwards compatibility with your old discs, ultra lengthy cross-gen period, slow first-party release cadence…what a steal!Is this some sort of challenge? Anger your fanbase as much as possible and see what you can sell?
— John Linneman (@dark1x.bsky.social) 2026-07-01T13:57:57.852Z
Sony at the PS6 launch:"Fortunately, we have a product for people who still want to play games on disc. It's called PS5."
— Knoebel (@knoebel.bsky.social) 2026-07-01T13:49:24.662Z
— Tom O (@vgtomo.bsky.social) 2026-07-01T13:40:34.846Z
Buying physical discs wasn’t just about “collecting” .. it was also the more cost effective option for a lot of people. This is an L for so many reasons man
— Brigitte ✨ (@skywardsiren.bsky.social) 2026-07-01T12:17:25.661Z
https://bsky.app/profile/brianpshea.bsky.social/post/3mplnsdixa22n
Also.ALSO.Announcing that you’re ending physical media on the same day that you announce that you’re shuttering the PS3 and PS Vita stores? The same week that you revoke access to hundreds of digitally-purchased movies without refund? The optics are as offensive to the senses as the news itself.
— James B. Jones (@jamesbjones.com) 2026-07-01T13:43:10.881Z
Like many others, Sony ditching discs reminded me of that E3 2013 moment when two now-former PlayStation execs made a mockery of Xbox's convoluted digital gaming rights Xbox One plans by showing that you could share a PS4 game by simply handing it to someoneBut I'd forgotten about this…
— Stephen Totilo (@stephentotilo.bsky.social) 2026-07-01T13:36:46.909Z
New physical video games will last only as long as the console manufacturers allow them to.Been saying this for years, and here we are.
— Mat Piscatella (@matpiscatella.bsky.social) 2026-07-01T12:36:39.960Z
PlayStation in 2026
— Steve Vegvari (@svegvari.bsky.social) 2026-07-01T13:13:05.937Z
Lately, things feel glum in the gaming industry. Alongside Sony’s future plans–which suggest the PS6 being a digital-only gaming console–Rockstar has also come under fire for its GTA 6 code-in-a-box plans, Microsoft is reportedly planning to close down several of its game studios, and an Xbox console is more expensive than ever before. But hey! At least you can get some PC games for cheap right now and use them to ignore the dismal state of things.”}]] Read More GameSpot – All Content
#game #gaming