Sony has announced a major change that has thousands of gamers up in arms.
More than 258,000 people have signed a Change.org petition after the entertainment giant announced it would shift away from physical discs to move toward digital. Sony said physical game disc production for all new games releasing on PlayStation consoles will be discontinued starting in January 2028 amid changing “consumer preferences.”
In early 2028, new games will be available on PlayStation Store and at retailers in digital formats only. The transition has no impact on games that have been released or will be released in the next 1.5 years.
“This is a natural direction for Sony Interactive Entertainment to adapt to consumer trends as the general preference for digital media significantly outpaces physical discs,” Sony said in a statement. “This transition will enable us to align more closely with how most of our community prefers to access and play games today.”
According to several tech publications, Niko Partners analyst Daniel Ahmad estimated that Sony sold more than 70 million physical discs in 2025, even with digital purchases sitting at roughly 80% of full-game sales.
Sony, along with Microsoft’s Xbox, China’s Tencent and NetEase Inc and Japan’s Nintendo, are viewed as gaming industry leaders and the petition argues that once Sony makes the change, others will follow.
Sony produced the best-selling console of all-time when the PlayStation 2 was released in 2000 and its subsequent consoles are also among the best-selling of all time.
The petition launched by Jade Pearce of PNP Games Inc also argues that having a digital copy isn’t the same as owning a physical game that can be lent, traded, sold, collected and passed down to future generations of gamers.
Physical games also support an entire industry that an all-digital future would quietly erase, the petition said. Retailers, distributors, manufacturers, warehousing and logistics, the pre-owned and trade-in market and the collector community will all be impacted in terms of revenue and jobs, opponents of the digital trend say.
“A box with only a download code is not the same thing. It is a digital license in plastic packaging,” the petition reads. “You do not own it. You are renting access that can be revoked, and people have already had purchased movies deleted from their libraries and games pulled from sale weeks after launch.”
“We are not against digital. We are against digital being the only option. A large and passionate community still wants a real, physical game they own outright, and Sony is about to take that choice away.”
For its part, Sony argues that it will continue to prioritise 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 the PlayStation Store.
“We remain committed to delivering a world-class gaming experience to our fans and we thank you for your continued support,” a statement said. – mlive/TNS
