Sony recently responded to reports claiming that production of physical PlayStation game discs would be "cut by 90%," stating that this claim was a misinterpretation of remarks made by a Sony DADC executive. After Game directly inquired with Sony Digital Audio Disc Corporation (DADC), it was revealed that physical game disc production is expected to decrease by 10% in 2028, not drop to 10%.
A Sony DADC spokesperson told Game: "To clarify and avoid any misleading information: In that statement, Dietmar projected that overall product sales would decrease by 10%, not drop to 10%."
However, the Sony DADC spokesperson did not reveal what would happen after 2028 and referred further questions about reorders to PlayStation's own PR team, which did not respond to Game's inquiries.
The cause of this confusion is PlayStation's announcement in July that it would stop producing physical discs for new games starting January 2028. However, already released games and those still planned for disc release before this date are unaffected, and reorders will continue to be accepted afterward.
Unlike Microsoft, which allows third parties to qualify as "Authorised Replicators" and produce physical Xbox discs based on publisher agreements, Sony has always kept disc production in-house through DADC, rather than outsourcing the production process to external factories.
Niko Partners analyst Daniel Ahmad believes that once physical discs are canceled, the second-hand game market could suffer a fatal blow, and player spending would be directed straight to the PlayStation Store. Compared to physical retail channels, Sony's profit margins in its digital store are obviously higher.
Former Head of PlayStation Worldwide Studios: Canceling physical editions is "frustrating, but not unsolvable"
Shawn Layden, former head of SIE Worldwide Studios, told Game that PlayStation's move toward a fully digital future is "frustrating, but not unsolvable." However, he admitted that he currently "cannot see the specific details," so he does not know if there will be some kind of licensing partnership model in the future.
Layden believes that the demise of physical media has been predicted many times, but some physical formats have ultimately regained vitality.
"No one expected cassettes to become popular again. Vinyl records haven't so much returned as never truly disappeared. The flame went out, but the embers were always there, and it came back just like that. The same goes for the book industry. We once thought everyone would be using Kindles now."
In Layden's view, collecting itself is an important part of gaming culture.
"Did you collect all the gems in Crash Bandicoot? Did you collect all the stars in Super Mario? We love collecting games. We have a game shelf where we display all our game cases. If you're a super hardcore gamer, you buy two copies of a game when you purchase it, right? One stays in the shrink wrap, and the other is for playing."
"We buy steelbooks, three-disc editions of Final Fantasy, and figurines... You can't download these things. So what happens to them in the future?"
Layden believes that Sony's decisions are often treated as purely financial issues, but they should not be handled that way.
"Someone still needs to keep track and ask, 'Okay, what is the impact of this move on the brand?' If we do this, Everythinggj makes sense from an economic perspective. I understand, it's just a math problem. But what is the brand impact? Will people say, 'Great job, guys!' or will they say, 'We hate you, stop doing this!' Sometimes, they really do say, 'We hate you!'"
He further stated: "I see many companies making certain decisions. Objectively speaking, I don't know how much dollar revenue this decision ultimately brings you, but your brand value may have dropped by 30% as a result. So, I hope you feel this deal is worth it."
Layden questions: Do digital games that cannot be resold truly count as "owned"?
Regarding the trend across the entire gaming industry gradually shifting from physical ownership to digital access models, Layden's attitude is more direct.
"What does so-called 'ownership' really mean now? This is a real question. In fact, it's not even a question anymore. It actually means you are shifting your business model from 'ownership' to 'access.' You could never sell your iTunes music library. You also can't sell your PlayStation digital game library." So, if you can't resell it, do you really own it?"
Boutique publisher iam8bit, known for collector's edition games, told Game magazine that they "definitely want to find a way to continue producing physical PlayStation games."
The article also mentions a potential solution: Conectiv Supply Chain Solutions, a disc manufacturer headquartered in Memphis.
One potential path mentioned in the article is Conectiv Supply Chain Solutions, a Memphis-based disc manufacturer founded in 2025 that recently acquired SDS, the home entertainment distributor for Universal Pictures and Warner Bros. However, Game reported that, as of press time, it had not received a response from the company or its CEO.
Earlier this week, during the State of Play livestream, the YouTube live chat was flooded from start to finish with comments like "No disc, no buy" and "We want Destiny 3." Switching to the Twitch stream, it was also found that the chat was spammed with Destiny-related emotes and similar calls for physical editions of games.
