Sony has announced one of the biggest changes in PlayStation’s history, confirming that it will stop producing physical discs for all new PlayStation games from January 2028. Every game released after that date — including Sony’s own first-party titles as well as third-party games — will be available only in digital form through the PlayStation Store or via digital download codes sold by retailers.
The firm states that the main reason behind the decision is the huge rise in digital game purchases. According to the company, around 80% of its full-game software sales in fiscal year 2025 came through digital downloads. Notably, faster internet connections, larger SSD storage, cloud saves, automatic game updates, digital pre-loads and services like PlayStation Plus have made downloading games much easier than before.
Sony also clarified that the change will not affect games already released or titles scheduled to launch on disc before January 2028. Existing physical games will continue to work normally and remain available for sale. Retail stores will still sell PlayStation games after 2028, but instead of Blu-ray discs, customers will receive digital download codes that can be redeemed through their PlayStation accounts.
The company launched the original PlayStation in 1994, using CD-ROM technology that changed the gaming industry at the time. Since then, every PlayStation generation — PS1, PS2, PS3, PS4 and PS5 — has relied on physical media, moving from CDs to DVDs and later Blu-ray discs. Over the past three decades, Sony has sold more than 600 million PlayStation consoles worldwide, while the PlayStation 2, with over 160 million units sold, remains the best-selling video game console in history. Physical discs became an important part of gaming, allowing players to build collections, lend games to friends, buy used copies and keep games without depending entirely on online services.
However, the latest move has been building for several years. In 2020, Sony launched the PlayStation 5 Digital Edition, which came without a disc drive and was priced lower than the standard PS5. Later, the company redesigned the PS5 so that the disc drive became a detachable accessory instead of a fixed part of the console. The company has also been updating its digital ecosystem by planning to close the PlayStation Store for older platforms like the PS3 and PS Vita in 2027, while still allowing players to download games they already own.
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Ashutosh is a Senior Writer at The Tech Portal, largely reporting on new tech, and intersection of technology and business. Ashutosh’s career spans across nearly a decade of technology writing across multiple platforms and languages.
