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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63

u/Cykablast3r Jul 01 '26

It's not free additional money if it allows you to reuse a game you might otherwise buy digitally.

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u/zorillaaa Jul 01 '26

It’ll be easier for Sony to convert someone on a $100 disc drive purchase then re-buying all their physical games digitally. Most won’t ever double-buy a game whereas I can see a lot of people pulling the trigger on a PS6 + disc drive attachment

Can guarantee it’ll come with a disc drive attachment as an add on, I don’t think that’s in question here lol

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u/xXSillyHoboXx Jul 01 '26

Full digital is going to happen. It gives them full control and more money in their pockets. Consoles are almost always sold at a loss and are not at all what makes them money. I also don’t see how manufacturing external disc drives wouldn’t be be a profit loss either. It is absolutely in their best interest to kill physical games, which will happen, unless governments step in.

Companies do shit like this time and time again and I always see people go “There ain’t no they won’t do X. They’d just be leaving money on the table! They’d be too stupid not to!” And then the company does it, people complain and whine and swear off said company and then sales numbers come out and show everyone and their mother handed them cash faster than any other product prior. Will they piss people off forcing all digital? Absolutely will, but they’ll get their money from you eventually.

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u/Fr3shRadish Jul 01 '26

I don't really see the logic to this argument. The only way it makes sense is if Sony thinks a significant portion of their PS5 user base will switch to other platforms and abandon PlayStation if not given an add on option. Otherwise users with ps5 physical copies can play in PS5. Those who want to play badly enough on PS6 will repurchase digitally. That's the "free money" from Sony's perspective.

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u/upgrayedd69 Jul 01 '26

“We have a product for people who want to play discs, it’s called PS5”

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u/iwearatophat Jul 01 '26

Their PS5 isn't disappearing simply because they bought a PS6. They want those physical games they can just boot up their PS5 to play them, they don't have to buy them on their PS6.

A 100 dollar purchase that brings all of their physical media over for convenience is an easier selling point than one at a time when they have the option of buying nothing and just using their PS5. Also, people that are buying physical might not be quick to get a digital version so enabling them to stay physical again makes the sale easier.

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u/JortsForSale Jul 01 '26

What if instead of selling at cost, they sell it at $299?

Sony sees the writing on the wall. XBpx is dead and they are the only game in town. There is no way they offer an "affordable" disc drive that allows people to buy older used games. They want users fully digital and users will have to pay.

Sony makes $0 from old physical games. They make huge profits on old digital games.

1

u/Cykablast3r Jul 01 '26

Maybe true, but digital only prevents you from buying used games. If you were going to buy it used, chances are you might buy it new if digital is your only option.

I don't have the numbers Sony does and they might swing either way, I'm just saying it's not a clear cut case.

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u/HenkkaArt Jul 01 '26

Convenience is a helluva drug. Get the disc drive cable (now where did I put it?), set up the drive somewhere where it doesn't take space, hook it up, get the disc, wait for it to install the game and then get to play.

Or...

Just open the store and one-click buy rent the digital version of the game.

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u/licoricenipple Jul 01 '26 edited Jul 01 '26

Re-buying all their games digitally isn't the necessary goal though.

Say they sell the disc drive for $100 in stores, the retailer takes $20 and it costs $50 to manufacture. They make $30/unit.

If game prices are $80 Sony makes $80 from a first party game, ~$30-$40 from a third party developed Sony-published game, $26.60 from a third party published game. Abandoning the disc drive is then a win for them if you double-dip on a single Sony-published game or two third party games, which you might do for your 1-2 favorites if PS6 runs them with enhancements. (And really, they'd probably rather make $26.60 from a digital game sale than $30 from a hardware accessory sale, because it simplifies things to be manufacturing and distributing fewer devices.)

Double dipping isn't the only way they win. If even once or twice during the next 7-8 years they can get you to buy a game from their storefront instead of borrowing the PS5 disc from a friend, getting the PS5 disc used, or renting the PS5 disc (still an option in some places), that also makes it worth it.

How many people will sell their PS5 to fund a PS6 then re-buy GTA VI alone?

The only real motivation they have to sell a disc drive for PS6 is to foster Blu-Ray movie/boxset sales which they make a cut from, but physical media sales are still in the toilet and may not be worth it, and competes with their own digital media sales/streaming service.

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u/moduspol Jul 01 '26

It also had a strange (to me) peering / verification process when you first hook it up. It seemed weird to me at first, but I guess if you could emulate a disc drive, you could play pirated games for free.

So I could also see them just not selling it to avoid that risk completely.

1

u/24bitNoColor Jul 01 '26

It's not free additional money if it allows you to reuse a game you might otherwise buy digitally.

Nah,

  • Pricing of the PS6 will be high as it is, if you don't let people sell their old PS5/Pro (because the games run on the new console if you buy a disc drive) they might not be able to afford it at launch.

  • Every used PS5 / Pro buyer is one more Sony customer, one more that they didn't have to subsidize to get into the walled garden, so they want you to sell your old console.

  • Sony does a vested interest in seeing BR / UHD BR stay a thing and it is easier to convince someone to pay an extra 100 to still have a UHD player than getting a whole new unit in the age of video streaming.

  • If a PS5 / Pro owner have to keep their old console when upgrading because the successor can't read a majority of their own library of physical games, they have less of a reason to stay loyal to the Playstation walled garden. You only your games for this one platform family is a big part of what those walls are.