Sony will not release PlayStation games as physical disks starting from 2028

Japanese technology giant Sony has officially announced that, starting from the year 2028, it will stop offering new games for PlayStation consoles as physical disks, taking the digitalization process in the gaming industry one step further. In a statement to the German Press Agency (dpa), the company stated that this decision is part of their strategy to completely transition distribution models to digital form and that demand for physical media is gradually decreasing. The official statement made by the Tokyo-based company confirms that all new PlayStation games released from next year onward will only be available digitally for download, and the disk format will be completely removed from the production phase. This historic decision appears to fundamentally impact gamers' habits of physically collecting the games they own, transferring them to others, or selling them second-hand.

Company officials, emphasizing that the main reason behind this radical change is the inevitable shift in consumer behavior, stated that approximately 80 percent of games sold for PlayStation 5 are already purchased through digital channels. However, it was noted that a significant player base is still insistent on buying disk-based games, exchanging them whenever they want, or keeping them physically in their libraries, and that the concerns of this group are being taken into account. Sony clarified that old games released before 2028 and current titles released before this date will continue to be accessible in their current formats, i.e., on diskette or digitally, so old libraries will not be affected. In addition, it was stated that boxed games to be placed on retail shelves after 2028 will contain only a code to download the game instead of a disk, and therefore there will be no physical data carrier.

This move is not limited to Sony's own strategy but clearly reveals a broader trend toward the gradual extinction of physical media in the video game sector. The new game of the Grand Theft Auto series, considered one of the industry's most anticipated and biggest productions, will also be released only digitally, adapting to this wave of digitalization, and will contain only a download code even in boxed versions. Other major players in the sector have started to follow similar paths; rival Nintendo is adopting a hybrid model for its next-generation console Switch 2 where some game cartridges will contain a digital license key instead of the game itself, allowing players to download the content.

Regarding the digitalization process, Sony also announced its decision to completely shut down digital download stores for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita platforms in the middle of next year. This decision means that owners of these old consoles will no longer be able to purchase or download new digital games from the platforms' official stores, creating a significant archive loss for retro game enthusiasts. While some alternative methods, such as the license key system adopted by Nintendo, retain some of gamers' rights to transfer or hand over games, Sony's option to switch fully to digital eliminates such secondary market rights. This situation brings about a long-lasting debate among gamers regarding the future of the concept of product ownership and the permanence of digital licenses.