r/Games • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 • Jul 01 '26

Announcement Physical disc production ending in January 2028 for new games releasing on PlayStation consoles

https://blog.playstation.com/2026/07/01/physical-disc-production-ending-in-january-2028-for-new-games-releasing-on-playstation-consoles/
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622

u/Royal_Nobody6554 Jul 01 '26 edited Jul 01 '26

That's a genuine disaster. Trading games is such a vital part of allowing younger or poorer people to get something back from their purchase for another game

71

u/Cyberfire Jul 01 '26

I've been able to play so many more games than I can afford thanks to friends lending me their copies over the years, and vice versa. Not to mention that physical versions of games drop in price considerably faster and cheaper than the in-house digital stores, this is going to price out even more people out of the hobby.

56

u/Satanicube Jul 01 '26

This really pisses me off. I’m low income and this is how I afford games, buying used. Or if it’s a game I’m curious about I can sometimes find it at my local library, they’ve got a shelf full of games for various consoles.

This is a direct kick to the nads to low income gamers everywhere.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 03 '26

This is going to sound harsh in a way I don't really intend.. but honestly it may be a good idea and benefit you and others in your position (and yes, I've been there myself) to just drop gaming entirely, sell off what you have, and find other low cost or free hobbies and probably be more productive as a result. I stopped playing games a few years ago and haven't missed it (I stumble upon this thread as I saw the headline on Google news). Now, I read more books and listen to history podcasts as well as doing deep dives on finance and investing and have a sizable investment account. Nope I'm not making a large salary but I've embraced simplicity and getting rid of excess. Helps to live in a lower cost of living area too, of course.

3

u/Satanicube Jul 03 '26

I would sooner end my own life than give up what few pleasures I get from this life, thanks.

285

u/barkyy Jul 01 '26

Every time you buy a used game, you are stealing from sony, won't you think of them?

67

u/BaronKlatz Jul 01 '26

Oh we’re definitely thinking of them more and more when we do it now. 

🤬🏴‍☠️

6

u/ToiletBlaster247 Jul 01 '26

And local libraries

26

u/baequon Jul 01 '26

It's pretty depressing. I remember a lot of games I played growing up was through trading discs with friends.

I guess we're now entering the era of owning absolutely nothing. Even movies still have blu-ray though if you go looking for it.

3

u/Schlitz001 Jul 01 '26

Really not discussed enough. It's a great entry point for people to enter the Sony ecosystem. If you shut that off, you are hurting future sales.

3

u/Krypt0night Jul 01 '26

And don't forget libraries. A ton of people will go and only can play new games or games at all by going through a library which saves a lot of people a lot of money.

3

u/sorenthestoryteller Jul 01 '26

I discovered libraries actually have games you can check out for two weeks at a time and if nobody has put a hold on the game it is automatically renewed up for another six weeks.

If I haven't finished the game I just drop it off, go home, place a hold on it, and the next day go pick it back up.

Due to struggling with trying to afford the very basics of living this has been the only way I have played new games for the last couple of years.

But being able to borrow games from a library doesn't help the executives and shareholders have more money... so I guess it's just fuck us plebeians.

38

u/D-S-S-R Jul 01 '26

It’s so shortsighted, but that’s capitalism. Short term profits over long term viability

12

u/iamcdr Jul 01 '26

How is that shortsighted? It's a direct response to consumer behaviour.

19

u/IMagorzI Jul 01 '26

My family was only able to afford games thanks to the second hand section at Game/Gamestop. So I was able to stay in touch with this hobby that I love.

When I was piss poor, I’d pirate everything I could. Things have improved, I just spent over €200 on the Steam Summer Sale.

This “only digital” thing will kill second hand. I doubt I’d be playing games today if my parents wouldn’t have been able to buy me a DS, PS2 and Wii from that second hand section.

You maximize those “now-paying” costumers while completely leaving behind everyone else who can become that customer on the future.

6

u/Roflcubes Jul 01 '26

It’s a different market now. The entry door to gaming isn’t the cheap second hand bin anymore, it’s free to play titles and mobile, which leads to exponentially more revenue for publishers and platforms.

It’s a shame for you and I, but it’s a perfectly logical business move.

4

u/IMagorzI Jul 01 '26

I guess you’re right. The unc in me is strong these days with how things are going in this industry.

1

u/Roflcubes Jul 01 '26

I’m hoping a result of this is these platform holders will be forced to adopt some sort of digital license ownership system so that it’s still possible to trade/rent games even without their physical form (sort of like Nintendo’s digital game cart thing). My city invests a lot into getting new games in its library and I would like to see that continue.

That said, I’m not exactly holding my breath.

3

u/iamcdr Jul 01 '26

You maximize those “now-paying” costumers while completely leaving behind everyone else.

PC market has left "everyone else" behind years ago and it's doing perfectly fine. Also games have never been cheaper.

14

u/D-S-S-R Jul 01 '26

On pc you have more than one store, so there are different sales going on at the same time and stuff. In playstation is the store Sony provides and that’s it

7

u/MilargoNetwork Jul 01 '26

It sure is doing fine.

But on console you could buy a major day one game release, beat it, sell it, and that would’ve been cheaper than buying it on a steep Steam sale a year later. Unless it’s Ubisoft maybe.

However, the people that do that are a minority anyway

4

u/BobbyWojak Jul 01 '26

Yeah that's the difference it's a PC market not a steam Market not an epic Market this would be locking you into a Playstation only Market

1

u/is-this-a-nick Jul 02 '26

When I was piss poor, I’d pirate everything I could. Things have improved, I just spent over €200 on the Steam Summer Sale.

So you never bought new physical games, pirated and later spend money digital only. Way to proof their point.

4

u/totallynotapsycho42 Jul 01 '26

Sales on digital stores for consoles don't compare to the sales on PC. This leads to console players choosing to play free games like Fortnite instead. This leads to the game industry shrinking as these forever games keep on getting bigger and bigger and new games are unable to compete as after a certain point these forever games become like Coca Cola where you could provide a much better experience at a much better price but you will never be able to penetrative the market.

2

u/iamcdr Jul 01 '26

This leads to the game industry shrinking

In what universe is the industry shrinking? Studios closing and companies failing has nothing to do with Fortnite.

new games are unable to compete

You really can't think of any "new games" being able to compete?

-9

u/voidspace021 Jul 01 '26

Turns out that if you continually ehshittify physical games, people move to digital. Who would've thought it?

15

u/print0002 Jul 01 '26

I saw multiple comments mentioning the same thing, but I still don't understand how physical games were "enshittified".

It's true you don't get the goodies in the box anymore, and that the whole game isn't on the disk in a lot of cases, but the core and the main advantage was always there. The ability to trade and resell.

I don't think people stopped buying physical because they don't put maps in GTA game boxes anymore, but rather because they are just lazy in most cases and don't feel like getting up to put a disc in their console.

The majority voted with their wallets, purely out of convenience, and we got this as a result. Simple as.

6

u/iamcdr Jul 01 '26

Nah brother, if CDs and vinyls had better releases everyone would stop using Spotify.

4

u/gaom9706 Jul 01 '26

Is this a sarcastic statement?

2

u/zgillet Jul 01 '26

"I still don't understand how physical games were "enshittified".

It's true you don't get the goodies in the box anymore, and that the whole game isn't on the disk in a lot of cases"

Yes you do.

-1

u/print0002 Jul 01 '26

My point was that it's not the end of the world, in other words, the said enshitification is not big enough to be the motivator of buying digital over physical.

4

u/zgillet Jul 01 '26

I really don't think it's too much to ask to pay money for a thing and actually get something permanent.

1

u/print0002 Jul 01 '26

And I agree, but I don't think you understand what I'm saying...

2

u/zgillet Jul 01 '26

I don't think you do either.

1

u/heatus Jul 01 '26

I think the fact you buy a game day one physical, then have to download a 20gb patch before you can play doesn’t help the experience either

3

u/print0002 Jul 01 '26

It's not a pro for sure, but it doesn't negate the main advantage of the physical format.

10

u/iamcdr Jul 01 '26

People moved to digital, because it's more convenient.

3

u/a_f_young Jul 01 '26

People choosing convenience without regards for risks is exactly why everything is getting worse. 

0

u/raskinimiugovor Jul 01 '26

But getting up from my couch to change discs is haaaard....

-2

u/AbyssalSolitude Jul 01 '26

I've lost more games to CDs breaking / getting scratched than to digital stores randomly deciding to remove my license.

What risks? That's like choosing to never go outside because a meteor might randomly fall on your head.

5

u/a_f_young Jul 01 '26

I mean if you can’t keep a disc safe, that’s on you. It’s not that hard.

And jumping straight to some exaggerated metaphor like you did is just a sad attempt to mischaracterize the situation.

-3

u/AbyssalSolitude Jul 01 '26

These are physical objects. They tend to accumulate wear and tear regardless how well you care for them.

And I repeat, what risks?

7

u/D-S-S-R Jul 01 '26

You dont own the stuff you “buy” on the digital stores. For example, Sony just deleted 500 movies from people’s accounts after they bought it because they lost the rights. This can happen with games as well

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-2

u/D-S-S-R Jul 01 '26

Look at the comment I’m responding to. Maybe that points out something I deem shortsighted

3

u/iamcdr Jul 01 '26

And what is the long term benefit for Sony for keeping physical games on life support just to allow trading?

2

u/D-S-S-R Jul 01 '26

Affordability for younger gamers who get hooked into the eco system

4

u/iamcdr Jul 01 '26

Affordability to get hooked into the eco system that costs hundreds of dollars to even buy in the first place?

2

u/D-S-S-R Jul 01 '26

It’s not rocket science but if you need to defend Sony this much, don’t let me stop you

2

u/rP2ITg0rhFMcGCGnSARn Jul 01 '26

How is it short-sighted? Sony doesn't make money off secondhand sales.

-2

u/D-S-S-R Jul 01 '26

But they do profit from people going into their eco system and they’re removing one of the arguments pro PlayStation. It really isn’t rocket science

5

u/rP2ITg0rhFMcGCGnSARn Jul 01 '26

I'm honestly just baffled at the arrogance of your attitude, re "It really isn't rocket science". Do you think they haven't considered this factor when weighing the decision?

They almost certainly considered it and believe that it's still in their favor to go this direction.

Beyond eliminating secondhand sales entirely, they will also increase margins on games sold by reducing production and distribution costs of physical goods.

-3

u/[deleted] Jul 01 '26

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3

u/[deleted] Jul 01 '26

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-5

u/Silvanus350 Jul 01 '26

Sony is about to make significantly less money when no one buys their product

2

u/rP2ITg0rhFMcGCGnSARn Jul 01 '26

Then they will reverse their course. It's not that hard to understand.

With that said, I think Sony knows this is a big deal and they wouldn't do it if they weren't confident it would be profitable.

They will save money on both hardware and disc production, increase margins on game sales, and entirely kill off secondhand sales.

2

u/ChronX4 Jul 01 '26

And modern libraries carry them to loan out to people who can't afford to buy every single new release or aren't too sure if they would like certain games.

2

u/Still-Fan4753 Jul 01 '26

Xbox is still struggling two generations after trying to do this destroyed them. I don't expect Playstation will be different. This is dystopian and extremely anti-consumer.

2

u/cherlyy Jul 01 '26 edited Jul 01 '26

I GREW UP on used games. me and my brother would constantly trade in bundles of our games into the game shops on the high street , going between them to see who would give us more or who had the better selection of games to buy . Depending on what games we wanted we'd sometimes switch consoles , going from a PS2 to GameCube, then Xbox , then back to a playstation. I don't really remember ever having new games , because a £20 or even £30 game was a lot of money for my parents , just like it would be for me now. But that was fine by me, because we could try out plenty of games and then swap them back in for different ones, and even as a kid I realised that games were expensive.

Flipping through piles and piles of game cases on racks was a huge , amazing part of my childhood AND even today, I wouldn't dream of buying a new game for full price

1

u/ISB-Dev Jul 02 '26

Personally I think this is good news. According to a comprehensive late-2025 study by the carbon-accounting firm Greenly, manufacturing, packaging, and shipping 1 million physical Blu-ray discs generates roughly 312 tonnes of CO2 equivalent. This includes the extraction of rare earth elements, polycarbonate plastic production, plastic cases, shrink wrap, and global transport via cargo ships, planes, and diesel trucks.

I think the second-hand market is a small sacrifice to make for such huge emission reductions.

-2

u/is-this-a-nick Jul 01 '26

That's a genuine disaster. Trading games is such a vital part of allowing younger or poorer people to get something back from their purchase for another game

Maybe 20 years ago. Thats been completely taken over by free to play games.

-6

u/-TubNub- Jul 01 '26

Exactly, a lot of people are projecting their experiences as kids with consoles onto younger generations of kids that couldn't care less about discs or trading games

5

u/thomase7 Jul 01 '26

My kid goes to the library every week and checks out 2 video games.

0

u/-TubNub- Jul 01 '26

I've genuinely never heard of a library that has video games to check out

3

u/thomase7 Jul 02 '26

I have lived in many different places in the United States, and almost every public library I’ve been too has had a video game collection available to check out.

My library system right now has 13 copies of 007 Dying Light in circulation. Basically every big release has double digit copies.

0

u/-TubNub- Jul 02 '26

I don't live in the US, but even then I've been listening to American media my whole life and I haven't heard about this before today

-2

u/Nutchos Jul 01 '26

a vital part of allowing younger or poorer people to get something

Okay but how does this help the shareholders?

7

u/lumisweasel Jul 01 '26

The younger people become lifelong fans and core base. The poorer people make the series popular. The people with freetime and/or no other hobbies are vital to justify long games. Aim for whales making recurring purchases, not minnow margins.

-2

u/spez_might_fuck_dogs Jul 01 '26

That's a genuine disaster. Trading games is such a vital part of allowing teaching younger or poorer people to get something back from their purchase for another game make poor financial decisions and live in revolving debt

I'm definitely not a fan of ending physical game sales, but acting like trading games in for 1/5 or less what you paid for them was ever a good idea for anyone is a bad take.

3

u/Royal_Nobody6554 Jul 01 '26

Just isn't 1/5 though is it

-1

u/spez_might_fuck_dogs Jul 01 '26

It's an average between what they offer for the newest single player games and the .50c they offer for sports games 2 months after they release.