In a past now long gone, a physical game media release was lush. You’d get a nice box, a disc, and even a glossy manual with instructions on how to play, or little tidbits about game lore. Sometimes, you might’ve gotten a nice map for display, or a sticker.
In the 2010s, the glossy manual was removed near-entirely as companies streamlined their physical media releases, and cut down on extraneous costs. In the 2020s, it’s now the humble disc which will face the same fate.
As PlayStation recently announced on its PlayStation Blog, it will cease production of physical game discs by January 2028. All future releases will be in digital formats only – and if they release with a box at all, this will simply be empty, besides a slip of paper.
While PlayStation has outlined this move is in response to consumer trends, judging by reaction online, nobody is happy with the decision, with plenty of chatter about its far-reaching implications for consumers, preservationists, retail stores, and beyond.
PlayStation ends disc production – quick links
PlayStation’s move to digital-only media
As announced by PlayStation, there is data to back its decision. In recent years, in Australia and overseas, many consumers are turning towards digital goods over physical media, likely for its ease of delivery.
‘As consumer preferences and the broader entertainment industry continue to shift away from physical discs to digital, physical game disc production for all new games releasing on PlayStation consoles will be discontinued starting January 2028,’ the PlayStation statement said.
‘Following this date, new games will be available on PlayStation Store and at retailers in digital formats only. This transition has no impact on games that already released, or will be releasing, prior to January 2028 in disc format.
‘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. This transition will enable us to align more closely with how most of our community prefers to access and play games today.’
But even as some consumers turn away from physical media, there are plenty of others who continue to collect physically, for an array of reasons. Choice remains key, and the loss of the option to buy physical media has significant consequences on many levels.
The loss of physical media
As critics have pointed out, PlayStation’s announcement arrives with frankly egregious timing.
Just a few days prior to this confirmation, the company announced that due to licensing arrangements with film distribution company Studio Canal, over 550 of its digital films available through the PlayStation Store would be deleted, and anyone who had purchased them would no longer be able to access them. No refunds, no alternative options. The films would simply be removed.
In a world where all media is digital, this remains a distinct possibility.
Digital games can be removed due to licensing arrangements. They can be altered or changed permanently, with players unable to access the original version.
The ways companies can get around this is in the tricky wording of how they define digital ownership. Typically, these agreements note that consumers are purchasing only a license to access a digital good, not the digital good itself.
Most companies, including PlayStation, Microsoft and Steam, have specific terms in their licensing agreements that outline they may stop distributing their digital goods at any time, for any reason.
As Choice outlined in a case study in 2024, ‘What these platforms giveth, they can summarily taketh away.’
Currently in the US, there is a push to end similar practices, with a recently proposed bill making its way through the legal process in an effort to protect consumers in the specific case of online games being taken offline and removed for players. While this bill doesn’t cover all digital games, it’s an important first step – and will hopefully inspire a similar, larger push worldwide.
In an era where games are digital, legislation will need to catch up to providers currently leaning on poor and anti-consumer policy for licensing and ownership. It’s the least that can happen, should physical media be going away entirely.
How Playstation’s decision impacts preservation efforts
It’s not only consumers and their rights that will suffer in the transition to digital-only game releases.
Lost in Cult, a company devoted to preserving games and their history through physical re-releases, books and other artefacts, lamented the decision on its social media.
‘As a company on a mission to preserve video games, we are deeply saddened by the recent news from PlayStation on ending physical disc production from 2028,’ the post said. ‘We aim to do everything in our power to preserve video games to the best of our ability and will continue to do so for as long as we can.’
‘Premium tangible things’ producer iam8bit, which has a similar goal, also expressed their profound disappointment.
‘We are profoundly disappointed by Sony’s decision to suspend physical games production in 2028,’ a spokesperson said on social media. ‘Physical games are vital to games preservation, ownership and consumer choice, values that have guided iam8bit since our first physical release in 2016. Our commitment to these values remains unchanged. Long live physical media.’
The Video Game History Foundation called it ‘unfortunate news’ and while it acknowledged much of its work was already digital, it was ‘baffled’ by a lack of protection for ‘meaningful solutions for archives and museums to legally preserve digital-only content’, particularly heading into the future.
It has called on the US Entertainment Software Association to lead change in the industry, and provide a tangible solution to ensure that video game history isn’t lost in this transition.
Physical media stores are also likely to suffer
Another impact worth exploring is whether this decision will speed the death of physical games retail stores. Here in Australia, speciality entertainment stores are largely refocusing on physical merchandise and tech goods, with JB Hi-Fi recently reducing the number of stores carrying physical media like DVDs, Blu-Rays, and 4K discs.
But there is a large question looming over EB Games, one of Australia’s longest-running and most dominant physical games retailers. What happens when games are just boxes with codes, no different to the same release seen on a digital storefront? While potential pricing parity may have an impact, it’s possible that RRP will be adapted to this digital-only future, to no advantage for consumers.
Sure, a business is not owed a compelling product by its partners – it’s up to the company to make a profit. But what consumer doesn’t love a good browse at the shops? There’s a real, intangible pleasure in taking your time, wandering through stores and seeing what you’re shopping for – or ducking out for a quick jaunt and spontaneously buying yourself with a treat.
In an all-digital future, are we to be confined in our homes, feeling the lacklustre joy of clicking a button to purchase a good?
In the wake of PlayStation’s announcement, there are so many questions about the implications. What will happen to physical media retail stores? What happens to consumer rights in an era where digital games can be plucked away at any moment? Should anyone really feel comfortable buying something they don’t actually own?
