Some days I lament having to get up at 8 a.m. to hit the blog mines, but then sometimes major news breaks that early in the morning and I get it. Well, good morning everyone, PlayStation just announced it will stop making discs for games starting in 2028. It’s a huge blow to physical media, but also a predictable one. There have been many, many signs that companies have been trying to get out of the disc-based game space for a while. The fact that the “physical” version of Grand Theft Auto 6, the biggest game of the decade, is just a code in a box was just the latest one.
This has huge ramifications for physical retailers, collectors, and people who still live in areas with bad internet service providers who have to spend literal days downloading a 100GB video game. It also comes shortly after PlayStation delisted hundreds of digital movies, reminding everyone that if you don’t have a disc in your hands, anything you buy can be revoked if the powers that be choose to do so.
The internet is not taking the news well, and hot on the heels of fans reacting poorly to GTA6 seemingly going digital-only, I imagine this will be an even bigger shitstorm that lasts well beyond today:
FUCK YOU SONYhttps://t.co/xW56fJ5Kq4
— Maku (@TropicalMaku) July 1, 2026
– Future of your digital library is up in the air
– “Closed Garden” digital means no incentive to push deals
– Preservation of titles becomes questionable
– You aren’t going to see cheaper MSRPs with this move.There’s literally no benefit to the consumer in removing physical. https://t.co/VR1mbUdm1Z
— Jawmuncher (@Jawmuncher) July 1, 2026
Announcing that you’re no longer producing physical games at the same time as announcing that you’re shutting down a digital storefront is quite the choice https://t.co/g6k28TCgh5
— OmegaPro 🍉 (@OmegaProYT) July 1, 2026
No.
Absolutely not.I TOLD YOU that they would try this. Now is the time to say NO https://t.co/91hdY88oan
— Canadian Guy Eh (@Canadianguyehh) July 1, 2026
If i had a nickel for each gaming megacorp shit decision in the past month i might have enough to start funding destiny 3 https://t.co/jMUEP1BUD5
— #1 Dredgen Bael Defender (@destiny_thememe) July 1, 2026
Aaaaand it truly begins
>GTA6 no physical edition
>PlayStation will stop making physical games starting 2028But gamers will defend their favorite brand and call you stupid for wanting more options 🤷♂️ https://t.co/SVqmjlqNrS
— TheNCSmaster (@TheNCSmaster) July 1, 2026
Fuck this shit.
— Knoebel (@Knoebelbroet) July 1, 2026
You’ll pay the same price as before except now you won’t own shit! No discs, just empty boxes with codes. When playstation removes your games from the catalog like they are in the process of doing with 500 paid movies you’ll get nothing. You’ll own nothing. https://t.co/ry0aLGuxUw
— Kala Elizabeth (@kalaelizabeth) July 1, 2026
Yeah this totally sucks. They will eventually try to blame this decision on the handheld, but the reality is, they want you spending more money on games, with less consumer choice.
Don’t take my word for it! Look at the prices of physical vs digital on PSN for older titles. https://t.co/Lnc7X8ekrO pic.twitter.com/1rpUogbjvg
— Dustin Furman (@DustinCanFly) July 1, 2026
This also comes at the same time as Sony announcing it will be shutting down the PS3 and Vita stores over the next year, so the company clearly has no qualms about illustrating the downsides to this move in the same breath as it argues that this is the future everyone wants.
Inevitably, people who simp for businesses will point out that there’s been a major uptick in digital sales over the years compared to the waning physical sales in brick-and-mortar stores, but the threat that any PlayStation game you buy after 2028 can be made inaccessible should spark more controversy from even the faux-business-savvy armchair analysts out there.
