Sony has announced that from January 2028 it will stop producing physical discs for new PlayStation games, making all new releases digital-only. The move reflects consumer trends toward digital media, but has drawn criticism over loss of resale value and ownership concerns.
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<img alt="The PlayStation 5 Pro on a table." data-caption="Sony’s PlayStation 5 Pro doesn’t even feature a disc drive. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge" data-portal-copyright="Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge" data-has-syndication-rights="1" src="https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/chorus/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25717608/247361_PS5_Pro_VPavic_55.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,0,100,100" />
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Sony’s PlayStation 5 Pro doesn’t even feature a disc drive. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge </figcaption>
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<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Sony has announced that from January 2028 it will entirely stop the production of physical discs for new PlayStation games. From that point onwards, new releases will only be available in digital versions from the PlayStation Store and other retailers. Games released before January 2028 will still be available on disc.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">"This is a natural direction for Sony Interactive Entertainment to adapt to consumer trends as the general preference for digital media significantly outpaces physical discs," Sony said in <a href="https://blog.playstation.com/2026/07/01/physical-disc-production-ending-in-january-2028-for-new-games-releasing-on-playstation-consoles/">its announcement</a>. "This transition will enable us to align more closely with how most of our community prefers to access and play games to …</p>
<p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/games/960160/sony-playstation-disc-production-ending">Read the full story at The Verge.</a></p>
# Sony is killing all physical PlayStation game discs
Source: [https://www.theverge.com/games/960160/sony-playstation-disc-production-ending](https://www.theverge.com/games/960160/sony-playstation-disc-production-ending)
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New games released after January 2028 will be digital\-only\.
New games released after January 2028 will be digital\-only\.
by
Jul 1, 2026, 12:15 PM UTC
[](https://www.theverge.com/authors/dominic-preston)
Dominic Preston
is a news editor with over a decade’s experience in journalism\. He previously worked at*Android Police*and*Tech Advisor*\.
Sony has announced that from January 2028 it will entirely stop the production of physical discs for new PlayStation games\. From that point onwards, new releases will only be available in digital versions from the PlayStation Store and other retailers\. Games released before January 2028 will still be available on disc\.
“This is a natural direction for Sony Interactive Entertainment to adapt to consumer trends as the general preference for digital media significantly outpaces physical discs,” Sony said in[its announcement](https://blog.playstation.com/2026/07/01/physical-disc-production-ending-in-january-2028-for-new-games-releasing-on-playstation-consoles/)\. “This transition will enable us to align more closely with how most of our community prefers to access and play games today\.”
The move follows the recent announcement that[*Grand Theft Auto VI*’s physical edition will only be a download code in a box](https://www.theverge.com/games/956389/grand-theft-auto-6-gta-digital-code-in-box-physical-games), which prompted a quick backlash from fans\. While digital copies of games have some obvious advantages, they deny buyers any resale value, make it harder to share games, and leave players reliant on ongoing access to console servers and accounts to access their games\.
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- Dominic Preston
## The Verge Daily
A free daily digest of the news that matters most\.
Sony announced it will cease production of physical game discs for PlayStation consoles by January 2028, moving to digital-only releases for new games, citing consumer preference for digital media.
Sony announces it will discontinue physical game disc production for new PlayStation releases starting January 2028, citing consumer preference for digital media, raising questions about game ownership and the secondary market.
Sony will stop producing physical game discs for PlayStation by 2028, drawing backlash from retailers, preservationists, and boutique publishers who warn of negative impacts on ownership, resale, and game preservation.
Sony announced it will stop producing physical PlayStation discs by 2028 and phase out PS3 and PS Vita digital stores, raising concerns about video game preservation in an increasingly digital-only future.
Sony announces that physical game disc production for new PlayStation titles will end in January 2028, with future games available only digitally via PlayStation Store and retailers.