Sony will stop making physical copies of PlayStation games in 2028

Sony will stop making physical copies of PlayStation games in 2028

“We will own nothing, it's truly sad.”

Some gamers are concerned about the future of game ownership after Sony’s announcement today that it won’t produce physical discs for PlayStation games as of January 2028. On that date, “new games will be available on PlayStation Store and at retailers in digital formats only,” Sony said in a blog post.

Ditching discs is “a natural direction” for Sony “to adapt to consumer trends as the general preference for digital media significantly outpaces physical discs,” the post said. During Sony’s fiscal year ending on March 31, 2026, digital downloads accounted for 78 percent of full-game unit purchases, up from 76 percent in fiscal 2024.

“We’ll continue to prioritize our resources to drive innovation in how players can access games and provide choices as to where players prefer to purchase new games, whether that’s at retailers or PlayStation Store,” the blog said.

No companies other than Sony subsidiary Sony Digital Audio Disc Corporation make PlayStation discs, so today’s announcement signals the end of physical copies of PlayStation games and marks Sony’s evolution toward a licensing-only sales model.

You don’t own digital copies

Digital copies of games can make it easier to quickly acquire and play games, receive updates, own many games without needing much physical space, and can help reduce waste. The gaming industry has already mostly moved to this model.

However, buying a digital download is not the same as owning a game. Per PlayStation’s terms of service:

When you order or purchase a product from PlayStation Store, you buy a personal license to use that product for private, non-commercial use. That license is not transferable unless your local applicable laws say it must be.

This means you can use a product in the ways described in the license, but do not own the product. Gaming companies rarely delete previously purchased games from customers’ libraries, but it is possible. In 2013, Valve pulled copies of Order of War: Challenger from customers’ libraries after the game’s servers shut down, rendering those copies useless.

It would be shocking and unpopular for Sony to remove purchased games from gamers’ digital libraries, but considering that you “do not own the product,” as Sony puts it, the risk remains.