Sony acknowledges backlash, will “cautiously” move forward with end of discs - Ars Technica

Console gaming Sony acknowledges backlash, “cautiously” moves ahead with end of PlayStation discs Sony doesn’t think the move will hurt it financially. 87 Credit: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images Credit: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images Text settings Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only   Learn more Minimize to nav Sony is “cautiously” moving forward with plans to stop producing discs for PlayStation games as of January 2028, CFO Lin Tao said through an interpreter today. During an earnings call, Tao said there are “various reasons” for Sony’s decision, with the biggest being that the “digitalization of overall has been progressing.” “When we think about the future, and we put in a lot of thought and time, and we cautiously considered this, and we came to this conclusion. And we’re going to cautiously move this forward,” Tao said. Sony’s announcement this month has drawn backlash from gamers and big names in the gaming industry who question a future in which they don’t own PlayStation games but instead buy licenses, which can be revoked. There’s also concern that some games will become hard to find if Sony eventually closes its digital storefronts. Tao acknowledged that “people have strong views” about the end of PlayStation discs. “Games are loved by many people,” she said. “It’s a form of entertainment that’s loved by people. It’s connected to people’s fond memories in many cases. We understand those emotions. We want to consider that, and in the future digital ecosystem how… we engage the gamers is something that we would like to continue to explore.” The change in strategy reflects how Sony sells games today. In its fiscal year ending on March 31, digital downloads accounted for 78 percent of Sony’s full-game unit purchases. In 2008, 100 PlayStation games sold over 100,000 physical units in the first half of the year, compared to seven in the first half of 2026, according to data shared this month by Circana analyst Mat Piscatella. More broadly, physical game sales have declined from 297 million units in the US from June 2008 through June 2009 to 37 million in the past year, Circana’s data says. When asked about the financial impact of Sony’s decision to end disc production, Ishii, a corporate communications executive, said Sony has yet to see an impact and noted that content sales are largely “digitized” already. “Therefore, as a result of the discontinuation of a disc, we don’t see that there will be any negative impact on our business. However… the users, the players, have attachments, and we have to think about how to respond to those feedbacks,” the executive said, per a transcript of the call. Sony executives were also asked how PlayStation will differentiate itself from PC gaming, which generally does not use discs. Tao said Sony doesn’t believe discs are what distinguishes PlayStation from the PC, instead pointing to “curated” content as a strength of the console, according to the transcript. “The game environment being stable, that’s another strength. Compared to the high-end gaming PC, our product is more affordable. We don’t feel that the disc itself is a strong factor for differentiation. Going forward, we can coexist peacefully with PC games.” Sony has reportedly started repurposing its disc factory to make optical microlenses.