Overview
- Sony confirmed it will stop producing physical discs for new PlayStation games from January 2028 and will sell future boxed copies as download codes if retailers choose to carry them.
- Circana analyst Mat Piscatella reported that only two PlayStation titles sold more than 10,000 physical units in the week ending July 11, 2026 and that seven PlayStation games have sold over 100,000 physical copies in the US year-to-date, figures widely cited by news outlets.
- Those sales snapshots are being used by Sony to justify the move because digital purchases make up the large majority of PlayStation software revenue and producing discs is now a shrinking cost center.
- Players, developers and preservation groups have launched large online protests and petitions and legal complaints have been filed in Europe that argue the change will reduce choice, resale options and long-term access to games.
- Supply-chain and retail partners are already adjusting operations as Sony winds down disc manufacturing at facilities such as Thalgau, Austria and retailers prepare to stock boxed download codes instead of discs.