'I will quit buying games' — Sony is killing physical discs in 2028 and now unhappy fans are concerned about what it means for game ownership | Tech Radar
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'I will quit buying games' — Sony is killing physical discs in 2028 and now unhappy fans are concerned about what it means for game ownership
"Looks like this is where my journey ends with Play Station then, goodbye"
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Är du ute efter en ny skärm till din PS5? Här är våra favoriter just nu. (Image credit: Shutterstock / Girts Ragelis)
Sony plans to stop producing physical discs by January 2026
The announced has spawned an overwhelmingly negative reaction from many Play Station fans
Many are concerned about what this means for game ownership and the PS6 era
Sony has announced that it plans to stop producing physical discs by 2028, delivering a huge blow to the concept of game ownership, and the reaction from Play Station fans seems to be overwhelmingly negative.
The company shared the bombshell news in a Play Station Blog post, and as of writing, it has over 6,645 comments. The majority of responses are calling for Sony to reverse the decision and arguing that they won't technically own any digital game they purchase come January 2028.
"We literally own nothing now but licenses this is a horrible decision Sony," one user wrote, as another said, "I’m gonna be honest, I will quit buying games. I hope I’m not the only one seeing this trend license purchasing vs game purchasing and it is disturbing that you are ok with this. Or worse, you have many of us convinced it’s OK."
There are also concerns about the lack of options regarding purchasing second-hand games in the future, as well as being unable to resell or trade their titles later on.
Some fans are also considering skipping the PS6 generation altogether if physical discs aren't on the table, with others vowing the PS5 will be their last Play Station console.
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"Looks like this is where my journey ends with Play Station then, goodbye," commented one fan.
"Well if you want people to stop buying new game systems, this is a choice I guess," a commenter wrote. "But this will mean I will never buy another Playstation as the way digital purchases are handled have shown me that it is a risk to pay a single penny for a digital game as one glitch on Sony’s part can get your account banned, and make you lose out on every digital purchase you have ever made."
Another said: "This is a terrible decision. As a long time Play Station customer, this will cause me to re-evaluate my console choice for the next generation. Digital-only is not in the best interest of the consumer, and it’s something I am not interested in.
"This, along with the decision to proceed with releasing a “PS6” at a time when components are at record prices, is making this hobby unaffordable for many. You risk killing the industry with these short-sighted decisions rooted in greed."
Following the announcement, analysts have determined that Sony's decision telegraphs that the next-gen PS6 console will launch in late 2028 and "at a minimum" won't feature a disc drive, but an add-on disc drive could be available to play older PS4 and PS5 games
It seems that Microsoft is following a similar all-digital business plan, as new reports have claimed that the company is testing a disc-to-digital feature for existing consoles and could also release a next-gen Project Helix console without a disc drive.
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Demi is a freelance games journalist who helps cover gaming news at Tech Radar. She's been a games writer for five years and has written for outlets such as Game Spot, NME, and Games Radar, covering news, features, and reviews. Outside of writing, she plays a lot of RPGs and talks far too much about Star Wars on X.
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