Sony Stops Releasing Physical Games Despite Consumer Voice Preferences

After the recent news that they will not have physical copies of Grand Theft Auto VI (just a download code inside the box), Sony continues to push the digital future against our wishes.

The company announced on its blog today that from 2028, the production of the physical game disc will be discontinued. Their thinking? “Consumer trends.” Seriously!

This is a natural direction for Sony Interactive Entertainment to adapt to consumer trends as the general preference for digital media far exceeds physical discs. This change will enable us to more closely align with the way most of our community prefers to access and play games today.

Ironically, their blogs end up immediately asking, “Did you like this?” and all the comments say, in fact, they don’t like this news.

“Don’t like this, I’ve always preferred physical to digital,” said one commenter. “We have nothing now but licenses. This is a bad decision, Sony,” said another.

In the time between typing those quotes and updating the blog post, the number of comments more than doubled, with everyone voicing their distaste for the news. (A third update before publishing this article tripled the number of angry comments).

Almost 80% of PlayStation 5 Game Purchases Were Digital

To Sony’s credit, their data supports the fact that the majority of consumers are, indeed, buying PS5 games digitally.

In fiscal year 2024, the company sold a total of 303.3 million games for PS4 and PS5 hardware, 28.9 million of those games are first-party titles. 76% of those sales were digital. That number dropped to 78% in fiscal year 2025 for a total of 317.9 million games sold.

Q4 2025 alone saw 85% of PS4/PS5 games sold digitally. So, yes, while a large number of people prefer physical sports, the data clearly says the opposite.

It’s a slippery slope, as it’s arguably easier to buy a game digitally. However, nothing will ever beat the fact that the physical disc of the game just works. No need to be connected to the Internet, no worries about the end of the license agreement. You just insert your disc into the console, and it starts playing.

Given the rising costs of game development, it sounds like everyone is looking for ways to cut costs.

Sony Has Also Closed the PlayStation Store on PS3 and Vita

As Sony and the PlayStation brand transition into the digital future, it is closing the digital door on its past.

The company also announced today that the PlayStation Store for the PS3 and Vita platforms will be closed for the following days in the regions listed.

• Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua – The PlayStation Store on PS3 will be closed from August 2026.

• Additional countries in Latin America and the Middle East – The PlayStation Store on PS3 will be closed from the end of 2026.

• In all other countries, the PlayStation Store on PS3 and PS Vita will be closed in July 2027.

Sony says that while they understand the news may disappoint fans, the company needs to focus its resources on expanding the “PlayStation experience on new devices” where the majority of users play.

Given today’s high profile story of Sony no longer releasing their first party games on portable disc, it’s a scary time for the future of gaming. Currently, there is no concern or worry about when the PlayStation Store will set the sun on the PS5 platform, but there is no doubt that, perhaps, it will come.

It all but guarantees that the next PlayStation console will launch without a disc drive, whenever possible. Will it mean that the PS6, and future PlayStation games, will be less expensive? Honestly, I doubt it, especially with the “full” version of GTA 6 costing $100.

Brand

Sony

Original release date

November 12, 2020

Original MSRP (USD)

$499, €499, £449, ¥49,980 (Base) // $399, €399, £359, ¥39,980 (Digital),

Operating system

Orbis OS