In one of the most disappointing and horrific acts by a video company, the best-selling platform brand will make sure that, “you will own nothing and be happy”.

When the PlayStation 5 was released back in the fall of 2020, aka, during the madness of when the COVID-19 pandemic was running rampant and political discourse entered into free fall never seen before in American history, I told myself that I had plans to buy a PS5, and, eventually I believe I would. As the years went by, I kept telling myself the same thing that eventually I’ll buy myself a PS5, but, somehow, as my life went on, I never did. Jump to six years later, the same narrative was applied to me all the time, but I was never able to figure out why I haven’t bought myself a PS5 yet? I know it’s not money issue, because here I am completely okay with spending $300-$400 on cosplay and buying $100 tickets to attend big name anime conventions. Maybe I thought that priority for other stuff from my same passion was more important for me? Maybe it’s because as a working adult, I don’t really have free time to invest on a console that forks a lot of money and keeps getting more expensive each year? Could it be that it’s library of games didn’t convince me to buy a PS5? Maybe it’s because switching to PC Gaming four years ago made my gaming experience just- (CALM DOWN FANBOYS IT’S JUST A JOKE RIGHT?)

… Maybe?

I came up with so many theories on why I haven’t bought myself a PlayStation 5 just yet? However, today, July 1, 2026, I finally realized why I haven’t bought one, and, the move pulled by Sony only enforces it. What am I talking about? Well, here’s what Sony has done that will probably enrage you, but at the end, nothing will be done about it.

Sony has announced that starting in January 2028, they will no longer be producing physical discs for new PlayStation titles. According to reports, it is most likely expected that Sony’s PlayStation 6 will be a digital only console.

To make the matters even more shocking, this comes right after Sony removed at least 500+ movies from its library due to licensing expiration issues. To add further insult, these select titles being removed from the PlayStation store in the European regions were purchased by the consumer. In other words, what the consumer paid for, no longer owns it, and Sony will not refund their customers who bought it.

According to an official statement by Sony:

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. 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.”

“We’ll continue to prioritize our resources to drive innovation in how players can access games and provide choices as to where players prefer to purchase new games, whether that’s at retailers or PlayStation Store. We remain committed to delivering a world-class gaming experience to our fans and we thank you for your continued support.”

“In response to shifting trends in consumer preference, new games will be released on PlayStation Store and at retailers in digital formats only.”

That’s all you need to know really. Yep, you get it now! Sony has officially killed physical media, and the saddest part is, it looks like they aren’t changing their decision at all. Do you want to know the reason why?

Because Sony only profits 3% from physical media purchases, while digital media gives Sony a profit of 80%-90%. So the big question is, who’s really to blame, and why are we in this mess, well, the consumer that’s for sure. Either way, I want to talk about something else.

Sony’s move away from physical media is a sad reality that’s happening in today’s video game industry. The truth is, I’m heartbroken, but not surprised either. Signs of Sony desperately wanting to move to a digital only platform was evident as early as the last stages of the PlayStation 4 era (2018-2020). Heck, when the PlayStation 5 was released six years ago, it was completely obvious that the digital versions of the console itself was a clear sign that a slow domino effect was set to happen later on. Four years later, when Sony released the PlayStation 5 Pro in 2024, gamers were enraged that one had to buy a disc drive that was sold separately. Even worse, gamers had to fork in $100 just to play games physically and especially right after having to fork in $700 for the system itself. Plus the PlayStation Plus, the games themselves, and add-ons, you are spending at least $1000 for a console that, with all due respect, you would pay less for a Gaming PC. It was clearly obvious that Sony did not give a RATS backside about the current state of physical media for video games.

Either way, Sony shouldn’t be excused nor defended. Sure, the consumers are at one part, partly to blame, but at the same time, not everyone asked for this. It’s saddening how Sony and many other video game corporations refuse to acknowledge how physical media is still significantly important for the video game industry, and how there are millions of gamers out there like myself who value the art of collecting physical video games. It’s also saddening knowing that those who collect physical video games are gamers who have long been part of PlayStation and the entire video game industry as a whole. Another part, it seems like Sony and almost the rest of the video game industry thinks that every gamer is simply an online gamer who buys digital games only and is completely unaware of physical video game collectors. In terms of personal preference, when it comes to physical video game collecting, it’s much more practical. We have already seen the dystopian ways of how a system functions when it only runs on a digital platform. Companies abuse their power, titles get removed without notice, people lose their entire library for wrongful reasons or irresponsible acts, and come on, let’s be freaking honest, this isn’t about making it easier for gamers, it’s about control and the obsession of the customer’s data. We’ve seen this happen before, data leaks, pre-order regrets, no refunds, bugs & glitches, loss of data, and storage issues. It’s completely obvious that physical media is just freaking better. There’s nothing wrong with preferring digital media at all. Heck, sometimes I like to buy games digitally, especially if there’s a sale going on, and if it’s only available for digital purchase. Of course, I overwhelmingly prefer physical purchases, and will always continue to do so.

Finally, what also makes me angry is the fact that Sony, and of course, Nintendo, Microsoft, and basically 90% of all video game companies, continue to “up” the prices of their products. Firstly, video games aren’t cheap anymore. A decade ago, if you wanted to buy a game that was close to forking you $100, you would get the game itself, a special limited edition, extra merchandise, exclusive in-game content, and to an extent, the entire DLC itself. Nowadays, for a game that costs $100, you just get the game itself. Either the disc itself, or just a digital code, just to play the game. Nothing else at all. Every year, video game consoles get more expensive, the games get more expensive, and prices continue to explode everywhere. The saddest part is, you get little value in return. Earlier this year, it was announced that prices of the PS5, Xbox Series X, and Nintendo Switch 2 will go up AGAIN! Then again, it’s not so much about companies having the audacity to do this to their consumers, but more so about how saddening it is seeing how a majority of the masses let them get away with these nasty anti consumerist practices.

This stuff is truly sad… Video games keep changing, and in my opinion, it only gets worse. Sure, we still get great stuff, and for me, there are so many amazing games coming out this year, and I still have fun with my consoles, but, at the same time, this doesn’t surprise me either. Back in 2020, when I saw these “digital only versions” of PlayStation and Xbox, I already knew these “digital only versions” were eventually going to become the standard de facto for the video game industry. I won’t be surprised if Nintendo eventually follows suit. It happened before with DLC, online membership, and, now, we’ve already seen digital codes to purchase games being experimented. It’ll happen.

After that ruckus, nothing changes, PlayStation 6 gets released, people will buy it in droves, and Sony is given the green light thanks to the consumers. Life goes on. I guess that’s why I transitioned to PC Gaming four years ago…

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