This July, PlayStation announced that it would cease production of physical discs for new games by January 2028, a decision that sparked widespread criticism and player boycotts. Even after more than two months, angry players continue to flood PlayStation's YouTube channel, official blog, and social media accounts with messages expressing their dissatisfaction. PlayStation executives undoubtedly anticipated the significant impact of this decision, but recent rumors suggest that Sony may be gauging third-party developers' attitudes toward discontinuing physical discs and considering a change of heart.
Tech analyst and YouTuber "Moore's Law Is Dead" revealed in a recent episode of the "Broken Silicon" podcast that PlayStation distributed a survey to game developers. Allegedly, this survey was larger in scale than any previously issued by the company, and in his words, it indirectly referenced the decision to cease disc production and how this decision would impact the teams participating in the survey.
He subsequently speculated that if Sony receives enough negative feedback, it might consider "some form of apology." Again, this is merely speculation based on a report, so it by no means implies that PlayStation will suddenly resume disc production.However, if the reports are true and PlayStation receives enough feedback from developers expressing dissatisfaction with this policy, it could be a small step toward prompting the company to change its strategy.
The situation surrounding PlayStation's potential return to physical discs is complex
According to former Santa Monica Studio writer Alanna Pearce, she learned from sources within some of PlayStation's first-party studios that PlayStation was aware that discontinuing discs would trigger significant public backlash, leading them to establish extremely strict guidelines for employee posts on social media. Pearce stated that PlayStation would only take such a step if they anticipated a "major PR crisis," and that "this was not unexpected for them." However, while the backlash itself may not be surprising, it remains to be seen whether its intensity exceeds expectations.
PlayStation views this as a maturing market, aiming to extract more profit from existing users rather than "aggressively marketing" to new players. Daniel Ahmad, Director of Research and Insights at Niko Partners, stated that average revenue per user increased by 59% in the PS5 era compared to the PS4 era. Beyond monopolizing how players purchase games, PlayStation can also achieve higher profits from digital sales since there is no need to share costs with disc manufacturers and retailers. PlayStation even pointed out that an increasing number of players are choosing to buy digital versions of games, with official data showing that digital game sales will account for 85% in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2025 (up from 19% in fiscal year 2015). These factors make PlayStation's transition to a fully digital model more profitable, especially in the current unfavorable economic climate.
Even with the economic incentives mentioned above to maintain the status quo, PlayStation's retention of its disc production facilities and potential collection of feedback provide an opportunity—albeit a slim one—to continue producing discs. Given the constant stream of bad news, such as price hikes, studio closures, disappointing major titles, canceled digital purchases, loss of exclusive games, and digital store shutdowns, PlayStation needs to regain players' trust immediately.
Although it is unlikely that PlayStation will announce a renewed interest in physical media, it is technically not impossible, especially if the results of this survey prove credible.