Game over for discs: Sony’s push towards digital will affect us all
Starting in January 2028, new PlayStation games will only be released in digital format. This might sound like a minor issue that’ll only concern nostalgics, but in reality, it’ll make gaming more expensive, less secure and more dreary for everyone. Here’s why.
The die is cast. Starting in January 2028, Sony will stop producing discs for new PlayStation games. It was obvious this day was coming, but no one expected it to arrive so soon. Both the industry and the community were anticipating Sony would keep their two-pronged approach for at least the next generation of consoles.
The company, however, dashed those hopes on 1 July with a scant press release.
Sony cited the growth in digital purchases as the reason for the move; just 15 per cent of all gamers still buy physical PlayStation games. While it’s understandable that Sony, as a publicly traded company, is trying to be efficient, the doggedness with which it’s pursuing this approach is frustrating.
Following Rockstar’s decision to release GTA 6 as a digital-only title, this is now the second clear sign that the future of gaming is disc-free.
Here’s what this is going to mean – and why it’s bad news.
A tradition will disappear
When I was growing up, my family never had a lot of money. We weren’t poor, nor did I have an unhappy childhood. However, my parents did have to make some financial compromises – including when it came to my hobbies. Although I had my own games console, it wasn’t until I hit my teenage years that I had more than just a few games of my own. Many of my early memories revolve around borrowed video games and the challenges presented by said borrowing.
Marco wanted Secret of Mana back before I had the chance to defeat the Mana Dragon. Douchebag. Even so, it failed to dampen my love for action RPGs in any way. I was happy just to be able to play the game.
Source: Rainer Etzweiler
By phasing out physical PlayStation games, Sony is erasing one of the medium’s oldest social components: borrowing and swapping games. At the same time, people on a low income will lose the opportunity to play games at all.
But what would happen if a game was lent to you, not by a friend, but by Sony itself? As strange as this sounds, it’s essentially what happens when you click the «Buy» button in the company’s online store.
Digital assets don’t belong to you
No one reads software terms of use, hence why the rumour that games from the online store belong to you is so persistent. Here’s the thing: the games aren’t yours.
The contract you agree to when buying a game is crystal clear on this. You’re granted the limited right to use a title – not ownership, just access. The same pattern is apparent across the industry. From Steam to Xbox, Nintendo to PlayStation, virtually all major platforms use licencing models that allow you to play, but don’t legally give you the game in the traditional sense.
Ironically, Sony itself aptly demonstrated why this is problematic just a week before its announcement. In the UK, PS5 users saw all of the Studiocanal films they’d purchased wiped from their libraries for «licensing reasons». My colleague Kim covered the case in detail at the time.
Source: Insomniac Games
If Sony’s Marvel licence were to eventually expire, what would that mean for games like Spider-Man and Wolverine, which are coming out this autumn? Would those games disappear from libraries too? The video game industry has an archiving problem as it is. Eighty-seven per cent of games released before 2010 are no longer legally available today.
Without physical copies of games, this situation will become even more acute.
Gaming will get more expensive
No one will be able to tell Sony what to charge for games once titles are available exclusively from its marketplace. Now, you don’t need a crystal ball to figure out why that’s a negative development. Spider-Man 2 currently costs 79.90 francs on the PlayStation Network. On Digitec, the game’s available for 47.90 francs, and I found a copy on Ricardo for under 30 quid. Sure, it looks like a rabid marten has got its teeth into it, but that’s exactly what drives home my point. If your budget doesn’t stretch to buying Spider-Man 2 right now, you can get yourself the «marten-bite» version.
Once 2028 rolls around, that won’t be an option anymore. If Sony thinks a four-year-old game is still worth 70 quid, you either pay 70 quid or you don’t play it. Like it or lump it.
In the medium term, dynamic pricing is likely to become a problem. The term sounds technical, but it actually refers to something straightforward. Rather than being fixed, prices change depending on demand, the time of day or – most gallingly of all – your shopping habits. Sony has already done a few test runs of this in the PlayStation Store.
Source: Rainer Etzweiler
It’s not just about Sony games
All PlayStation discs, including those from third-party and indie publishers, go through Sony’s manufacturing and certification process. If the company pulls the plug on discs, it’ll affect every new game in the ecosystem, from first-party blockbusters to limited-edition indie hits. What’s more, Sony’s announcement leaves no room for interpretation: it applies to all new games. From January 2028, PlayStation discs will no longer exist as a distribution channel.
As a result, the collateral damage will spread to micro- and boutique publishers such as Limited Run Games and Super Rare Games, whose business models rely entirely on physical releases. Right now, some of them are probably wondering whether that model has any future whatsoever.
This decision will undoubtedly lead to fewer games being made, since revenue from physical copies is a key part of many indie developers’ financial strategies.
Source: x.com/Billy_Basso
Game stores will vanish
Alright, I’ll admit this next point is a tad hypocritical. I hardly ever drag my fat butt to brick-and-mortar stores anymore, almost always opting to have things shipped to my home. But my hypocrisy doesn’t change the fact that this move is another nail in the coffin for game stores – and that’s a real shame.
Source: Softridge
Stores are more than just points of sale. They’re community hubs, experiences (midnight sales, anyone?) and tastemakers. If they disappear, a part of gaming culture will disappear with them.
Are console gamers just babies?
PC gaming is 99.9 per cent digital. The pro-digital camp often reflexively cite this as evidence of how well established and accepted digital games are in the PC sector. Fair point.
However, in the past, CD keys and one-time activations were already as much a given in PC gaming as WASD controls. The change also took place gradually. PC gamers were like the frog in the pot, oblivious to the water slowly beginning to boil. Console gamers, on the other hand, have been suddenly plunged headfirst into a bubbling cauldron. No one has ever set a discontinuation deadline for physical PC games, so by mentioning the sector, people are comparing apples and oranges.
PC gamers are also afforded choice; with Steam, Epic and GoG, there are three strong competitors. Steam is the clear leader, but competition from Epic is good for the market. Meanwhile, the fact that GoG is championing DRM-free options is a glimmer of hope on the otherwise bleak horizon of a digital-only future.
Source: Valve
Console gamers have kept their eyes wide open for the last few years and, as a result, are rightly sceptical about a digital future. The last ten years have been a s***show, with games vanishing from online stores forever, suddenly becoming unplayable or only being sold in expensive bundles to maximize profits.
Time and again, the industry has proven itself to be about as trustworthy as a «Singles near me» pop-up ad.
Will physical games soon be wiped out entirely?
Early indications suggest Microsoft will do away with discs in the future too. The Switch 2’s successor is too far in the future for reliable predictions, though some optimism is warranted here because the sales breakdown doesn’t (yet) look quite as bleak. Physical versions still account for about 40 per cent of Nintendo’s sales.
Looking at other media offers some hope too. Books haven’t yet been replaced by e-books. As I covered in an article (in German) for another website about three years ago, vinyl has also made a comeback. Even cassette sales have started to pick up again recently.
Source: Unsplash/Mick Haupt
Sure, you could dismiss this as a niche market, populated by a few romantics. However, it demonstrates that people’s need for physical possessions can’t simply be proclaimed out of existence. And where there’s a need, a market will emerge sooner or later.
Grand Theft Game
This article isn’t intended as a plea to cling to the past. Eventually, carriage drivers had to accept they’d be replaced by cars. If you don’t keep up with the times, you’ll be left behind.
Given how amateurish and anti-customer the gaming industry has been in its handling of digital ownership so far, however, we’d all do well to be highly sceptical. All gamers, that is – and not just die-hard fans of physical games like me.
After all, if consumer rights are continually eroded, eventually we’ll just be left with an empty shell.
Kind of like the retail version of GTA 6.
In the early 90s, my older brother gave me his NES with The Legend of Zelda on it. It was the start of an obsession that continues to this day.
This is a subjective opinion of the editorial team. It doesn't necessarily reflect the position of the company.
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