Sony to end physical PlayStation game disc sales in 2028

Sony announced Wednesday that it will stop producing physical discs for all new PlayStation games starting in January 2028, marking a move into an all-digital future. After that, every new release will be sold digitally through the PlayStation Store and other retailers. Games released before the cutoff will continue to be available on disc. Physical copies have long been a staple of gaming culture, so for many players, saying goodbye to game discs will be bittersweet. However, Sony said the decision reflects how most players already buy and play games today. “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. This transition will enable us to align more closely with how most of our community prefers to access and play games today,” the company wrote in its announcement. According to Sony’s financial re s ults for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2025, digital downloads accounted for 85% of full-game software sales on PS4 and PS5, while physical copies accounted for the remaining 15%. The decline of physical games has also been reflected in retail, with stores that once relied heavily on physical discs continuing to shrink as more players buy online. GameStop has reportedly closed more than 1,300 stores over the past two fiscal years. …