This is a real earthquake in the world of video games, even if it's only a half-surprise given the way the market has evolved. Sony Interactive Entertainment has just announced that it will cease production of physical discs for new PlayStation games starting in January 2028. From that date onward, new titles will no longer be sold on disc: they will only be available digitally, through the PlayStation Store or from retailers.
The disc disappears in favor of new releases.
The measure applies to new games released on PlayStation consoles from January 2028 onwards. After this date, new games will no longer be produced on disc. They will only be available digitally. Games already released on disc, as well as those that will be released physically before January 2028, are not affected by this transition.
The old physical games are unaffected.
PlayStation clarifies that this change does not impact games already available on disc, nor those arriving before the January 2028 deadline. The announcement concerns new releases after that date, not discs already on the market. No measures to remove existing physical games have been announced. The decision pertains to halting disc production for future PlayStation games, not to a blanket ban on games already sold in physical format.
The PlayStation Store is becoming indispensable
Starting in January 2028, new games will be available on the PlayStation Store and at retailers only in digital format. Stores will still be able to sell PlayStation games, but digitally, not on disc. Physical boxes, where they still exist for some products before this date, will no longer be the standard format for new PlayStation releases after the switchover.
Sony justifies the shift by citing player usage patterns.
Sony Interactive Entertainment explains this decision by citing evolving consumer and industry preferences, which are gradually shifting away from physical discs in favor of digital distribution. The company presents this transition as an adaptation to how a majority of gamers now access games. The group states that it wants to focus its resources on digital access methods for games, while maintaining the sale of new titles through the PlayStation Store and distributors.
A disruption for the PlayStation market
This announcement marks a turning point in PlayStation's strategy. Physical media, long central to the purchase, collection, lending, gifting, and resale of console games, will cease to be used for new PlayStation releases starting in January 2028. The timeline is now official and irreversible: until the end of 2027, games can still be released on disc. From January 2028 onward, all new PlayStation titles will be exclusively digital.
