Sony to Stop Making Physical PlayStation Games by 2028 — and Players Are Furious

Sony announced Tuesday that starting January 2028, it will stop manufacturing physical discs for all new PlayStation games. The company cited shifting consumer preferences toward digital downloads. The reaction has been swift — and overwhelmingly negative.

The announcement landed on the same day Bethesda revealed a physical Switch 2 edition of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, drawing cheers from fans. The contrast was hard to miss. While Sony moves to phase out physical media entirely, players are still showing up for boxed copies when given the option.

On Reddit, the backlash centered on one thing: cost. User DragonPup pointed out that without a secondhand market, game prices are bound to climb. “Eighty dollars is going to be the new normal,” they wrote. Another user warned about dynamic pricing — Sony has experimented with it before on the PlayStation Store, setting different prices for the same game based on region and purchase history. A fully digital ecosystem would give the company unchecked pricing power. Some commentators noted the practice could even run into legal trouble.

Others made it personal. User JuanMunoz99 called the move “anti-consumer,” arguing that the shift to digital isn’t about convenience — it’s about removing choice. They pointed to GTA 6 launching without a physical edition and the general shrug that followed as a sign of how quickly the industry has been conditioned to accept less.

Then there’s the trust issue. User unfortunatesoul77 reminded everyone that just this week, Sony removed more than 500 purchased movies from consumer accounts. “How can we trust them not to do the same with our games?” they asked. It’s a fair question, and Sony hasn’t offered an answer.

On X, gaming personality Shinobi602 joked that Sony will either sell the PS6 disc drive separately — laughable on its own — or ask players to convert their physical discs into digital licenses, which is functionally the same as making them repurchase their libraries. “I guess I’m keeping my PS5 forever,” they wrote.

Kotaku editor Ethan Gach surfaced a 2014 clip of Jack Tretton, then-president and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America, touting the benefits of physical games during E3 2013. Standing on stage, Tretton emphasized that discs let players fully own their games and decide how to use them. He used the moment to needle Microsoft over its controversial DRM policies for the Xbox One. The crowd cheered. Twelve years later, the clip plays like a time capsule of a very different Sony.

Bethesda’s official Elder Scrolls account didn’t miss the opportunity. On X, it promoted the Oblivion Remastered physical edition for Switch 2 with a pointed message: “You never know what physical treasures you’ll find while exploring Cyrodiil.” The image showed a game character beaming after picking up a boxed copy — a deliberate, if playful, jab at Sony’s announcement.