Sony PlayStation To Phase Out Physical Video Game Discs By January 2028

Sony PlayStation said Wednesday it plans to end production of new video game discs – a feature of the media and entertainment landscape for three-plus decades – by January 2028.

The decision, laid out in a company blog post, follows a recent announcement from Take-Two Interactive’s Rockstar Games that its long-awaited title, “Grand Theft Auto 6,” will be digital-only.

Steady declines in physical game disc sales mirror the patterns in the home entertainment and music businesses. Vinyl records have been a bright spot, however, staging a big comeback for music labels and topping $1 billion in sales last year for the first time since 1983. Netflix wound down its DVD-by-mail business in 2023.

“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 blog post said. “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.”

The change has “no impact” on titles due to come out prior to January 2028, the post noted.

Overall consumer spending on video games in the U.S. ticked up 1% in 2025 from prior-year levels to hit $60.7 billion, according to data from the Entertainment Software Association, Circana and Sensor Tower. Subscription services revenue jumped 20%, while mobile games now account for nearly half the total, at $26.7 billion in revenue.