Sony has announced it will cease production of physical PlayStation game discs starting January 2028, prompting backlash from players concerned about digital ownership and the disappearance of the used game market. Rhys Elliott, Head of Market Analysis at Alinea Analytics, described the dissenters as a "vocal minority," arguing that while these players may spend considerably, their contribution to overall revenue is limited.
Alinea estimates that new physical PlayStation games will generate over $655 million in revenue in 2026, but this will account for "significantly less than 20%" of the total revenue from new high-priced game releases. However, physical performance varies significantly across titles, and a single average fails to reflect their individual importance.
Regarding specific titles, physical PlayStation copies of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Onimusha: Way of the Sword each accounted for approximately 44% of their respective sales, while physical copies of Marvel's Wolverine accounted for 32.3% of the platform's revenue for that title.
Sports games have an even higher degree of digitalization: physical copies of EA SPORTS FC 27 account for approximately 8.9% of PlayStation revenue, while NBA 2K27 accounts for only about 4.6%. Analysts suggest that online modes like Ultimate Team and rewards included in digital deluxe editions may be factors driving sports game players toward digital versions.