Attendees take photographs of Sony PlayStation 5 Pro (L) and PlayStation 5 Digital Edition (R) video game consoles displayed during the Tokyo Game Show 2024 Photo by Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images In a major change for the video game industry, Sony PlayStation says that it will end production of physical game discs in January 2028.
Beginning at that time, new game purchases will only be able to be made on the PlayStation store, in a digital format from retailers. Sony announced the change in a post on Wednesday morning.
“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,” the company wrote. “This transition will enable us to align more closely with how most of our community prefers to access and play games today.”
The move marks the end of an era, as PlayStation was the console that helped popularize video game discs in the first place. While it wasn’t the very first gaming platform to use them, the PlayStation’s instant success in 1994 turned the disc into the media of choice for video game consoles from that point onward, ultimately sparking a battle for gamers with Microsoft’s Xbox (Nintendo, meanwhile, always zigged while the others zagged, sticking with cartridges).
The news from Playstation comes just a few days after Rockstar Games announced that its upcoming title Grand Theft Auto VI (easily the most-anticipated game in years) will be digital only, sparking anger from longtime fans.
Sony’s decision, however, suggests that it is not a one-off, but likely the future of video games as web know it.
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