Physical games have been disappearing from the gaming landscape for years, but Sony’s plans for PlayStation are taking that trend much further when it ends new disc production in January 2028. Digital games are obviously convenient, and there is little argument that downloading a game is easier than driving to a store to buy one. Still, physical games (PlayStation and beyond) continue to matter to a group of players who see them as more than just another way to install a game.
Former PlayStation boss Shawn Layden has talked about PlayStation ending disc production before, including when Sony first announced its plans to stop producing physical game discs for new PlayStation releases starting in 2028. Layden previously called the decision “fairly dramatic” and acknowledged that Sony had likely spent years looking at the financial side of physical media. He also revealed that the possibility of PlayStation going all-digital had come up repeatedly during his time at the company. Now, his latest comments reflect an evolution of what he’s said in the past.
Layden has now gone further with his criticism, arguing that Sony’s decision to stop making PlayStation game discs in 2028 could become a significant hit to the brand. Speaking on The Expansion Pass podcast, Layden said he has no idea what Sony’s financial situation looked like when the decision was made, but he doesn’t agree with it. His biggest issue is not that most players prefer digital games. Instead, he believes Sony is underestimating the importance of the smaller group that still buys physical games:
“We are an inquisitive collecting sort of people, and we like to show off our stuff. So I think for those reasons I don’t agree with that decision…If you can’t sell a thing, that means you don’t own a thing. And if you don’t own it, then what are you buying? If you’re buying access, that doesn’t quite sound as sexy, to be honest. And people, as people tend to do, in their mind they’ll game out the worst case scenario.”
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Layden pointed out that digital downloads are undeniably convenient. Players don’t have to drive anywhere, wait for a game to arrive, or even get off the couch to put a disc into the console. He estimated that perhaps 80% of players download their games while 20% still buy physical PS5 copies, but he called that 20% “a super important” group. Physical buyers can include dedicated collectors who buy multiple copies of games, keeping one sealed while actually playing another (the same basic mentality seen with comic book collectors).
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The bigger problem, according to Layden, is what happens to the idea of actually owning a game. A physical copy can be sold, traded, lent to someone, or simply kept on a shelf indefinitely. Moving completely to digital changes that conversation into something closer to “do you own a game or do you have access to a digital asset?” Layden believes players will naturally start thinking about what could happen if they lose access to that asset, as PlayStation has removed items from digital libraries before. Layden also added,
“And that’s a whole lot of brand hit and reputation bite that—as I said, I don’t have any visibility on the financials around it—but that’s a significant brand hit, and I hope it made sense to them.”
Layden has acknowledged that Sony almost certainly made the decision after looking closely at the cost of producing and distributing discs compared with how many players actually buy them. His concern is what the company gives up in return. PlayStation can save money by moving further toward an all-digital future for PS6 and beyond, but at the end of the day, Layden believes the physical audience represents something more valuable than its percentage of sales suggests.
