13 years ago, Sony unveiled the PlayStation 4 and dropped an instructional video teaching users how to share games with their friends. Famously, it’s a simple 22-second clip that simply features then-President of SIE Shuhei Yoshida handing off a physical copy of a game to a man standing right next to him. It was a massive dunk on the Xbox One, which came with a bunch of ridiculous rules about digital game sharing involving requiring someone to be on your friends list for a month, and each game could only be lent out a certain number of times. In one slick move, Sony won that entire console generation. All it took was a 22-second video.
In the year of our lord 2026, however, watching that video now feels like the punchline of a cruel joke. PlayStation has just announced that the company will stop physical disc production in January 2028. Here’s the statement:
“As consumer preferences and the broader entertainment industry continue to shift away from physical discs to digital, physical game disc production for all new games releasing on PlayStation consoles will be discontinued starting January 2028. Following this date, new games will be available on PlayStation Store and at retailers in digital formats only. This transition has no impact on games that already released, or will be releasing, prior to January 2028 in disc format.”
The post goes on to cite “consumer trends” for the decision, but really, it’s a crappy time all-around. With PC gaming becoming increasingly accessible (even if I have my gripes with the Steam Machine’s pricing), it’s getting harder and harder each day to justify even picking up a PS6 whenever that eventually releases. Prices are going up, physical games are disappearing… What would I be missing out on simply by sticking to PC gaming? A handful of exclusives, sure, but even those are dwindling with each generation as video game development becomes more expensive and takes up more time and manpower.
In all honesty, PlayStation’s decision wouldn’t affect me much. I’ve been pretty much digital-only when it comes to gaming over the past few years, mostly because it’s convenient, but really because publishers tend to send digital codes for early review access anyway. Still, there are plenty of ramifications to consider about this decision. Brick-and-mortar retail stores are already on their last legs and this may be the final nail in the coffin, not to mention the question of whether players actually own anything they buy anymore. Hint: the answer is no.
To use Concord as an unfortunate example, the game was delisted and removed from libraries after it was deemed a failure, which demonstrates just how easy it is for corporations to take away our digital libraries. Video game preservation also becomes a huge question mark. What happens when a digital storefront closes down? While Sony is certainly going strong right now, we can’t rule out the possibility that the PlayStation Store may go away one day. What happens to the games then?
On the flip side of things, Xbox isn’t doing much to counter this either, as a report from The Verge states that the company is currently looking into ways for players to digitize their physical collections. We’re heading into an all-digital future, and as things stand, I wouldn’t be surprised if more players start flocking towards Nintendo and the Switch 2 as the last bastion of physical games. Even if Nintendo is starting to introduce more Game Key Cards into the mix…
