Overview
- The company announced on Wednesday that starting 1 January 2028 all newly released PlayStation games will be sold only in digital form, a policy that covers both Sony first‑party titles and third‑party releases.
- Games already released or scheduled for physical release before January 2028 are exempt and may continue to be produced and sold in disc form under updated ordering rules.
- Sony will phase out PlayStation Store access on PS3 and PS Vita by region through July 2027, and the company says previously bought content will remain available to re‑download for the foreseeable future.
- Sony has begun retooling its last owned disc plant in Thalgau, Austria, and plans to retrain about 300 workers to make micro‑lenses as PlayStation disc demand falls.
- The move has sparked intense player and industry pushback over ownership and the used‑game market, and analysts predict it could push the standard PS6 toward a drive‑less design and a likely later launch in 2028.