PlayStation is preparing to cease production of physical disc releases of its games, beginning in 2028. Fans are furious, if not furious enough to stick to their guns on not buying digital games, but thus far PlayStation remains steadfast and hasn’t acknowledged the complaints further.
But now on the outside looking in, former PlayStation boss Shawn Layden is adopting a more neutral attitude. He’s not mad. He’s been behind the scenes and knows this wasn’t some sort of snap decision on Sony’s part. But he is sad about it. “Strictly as a fan,” he said.
I spoke with Layden earlier this week on a number of subjects (stay tuned for that), but had to ask him about the disc news, too. He characterized it as a “dramatic” decision on Sony’s part, and reflected on his own game collection, which contains a mix of physical and digital games. He told me that he preferred to buy digital for games like Call of Duty, but for something like God of War, he wants to have the box, and the art, and the disc all there in his library.
“I think there’s probably a whole lot of financial analysis that went behind this decision, which made them do that,” he said. “I won’t take issue with that, because I’m not a finance guy.
“But as a fan, just strictly as a fan, it just makes me kind of sad.”
Layden isn’t the only one mourning discs. Hideo Kojima has also expressed sorrow over the change, and a number of physical game collectors are similarly grieving.
On the bright side, Layden will still be able to get a physical copy of God of War Laufey, according to Santa Monica studio, suggesting it will release prior to 2028.
