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Sony Will Stop Making Physical PlayStation Game Discs in January 2028

Sony says rising digital sales justify the move and the change signals shifts in manufacturing and retail.

Overview

  • PlayStation announced Wednesday that it will discontinue manufacturing physical discs for new PlayStation releases beginning January 2028.
  • The company told partners publishers will still be able to place re-orders for titles that ship on disc before January 2028 and it will let retailers sell boxed download codes as a retail option.
  • Sony’s disc partner DADC has begun restructuring and retraining staff at its Thalgau, Austria plant while investing in optical microlens equipment as production of discs scales down.
  • PlayStation Direct now displays a notice about the 2028 cutoff and retains a one-per-order limit on the external PS5 disc drive because of heavy demand for the accessory.
  • Developers, creators and analysts have warned the change raises questions about ownership, preservation, the used-game market and that future consoles such as a PS6 will likely omit an internal disc drive.