Sony PlayStation Is Making a Major Change. Here’s What It Means for Gamers.
The gaming giant will make the change starting in January 2028.
Your scratched-up copy of Call of Duty just got an expiration date. Sony announced Wednesday that all new PlayStation games released from January 2028 will be sold digitally only, through the PlayStation Store and digital retailers, according to Reuters. New titles will no longer have disc versions.
The move has been a long time coming. Digital downloads already account for about 80% of Sony’s full-game software sales, meaning most gamers made the switch years ago. The remaining 20% who still buy discs do it for collectability, resale value or because they have slower internet connections.
Retailers like GameStop and Best Buy, which still dedicate shelf space to physical game cases, will have to adapt. Physical games were already a shrinking category. Now they have a hard end date, at least for PlayStation users.
For anyone who grew up browsing the game aisle or trading discs with friends, this is the end of an era. After 2028, you will no longer be able to own a physical copy of a new PlayStation game. As for those old discs — they still work, and used physical games released before January 2028 will likely become more valuable over time, the way vinyl records did after streaming took over. Collectors, take note.
Your scratched-up copy of Call of Duty just got an expiration date. Sony announced Wednesday that all new PlayStation games released from January 2028 will be sold digitally only, through the PlayStation Store and digital retailers, according to Reuters. New titles will no longer have disc versions.
The move has been a long time coming. Digital downloads already account for about 80% of Sony’s full-game software sales, meaning most gamers made the switch years ago. The remaining 20% who still buy discs do it for collectability, resale value or because they have slower internet connections.
Retailers like GameStop and Best Buy, which still dedicate shelf space to physical game cases, will have to adapt. Physical games were already a shrinking category. Now they have a hard end date, at least for PlayStation users.
For anyone who grew up browsing the game aisle or trading discs with friends, this is the end of an era. After 2028, you will no longer be able to own a physical copy of a new PlayStation game. As for those old discs — they still work, and used physical games released before January 2028 will likely become more valuable over time, the way vinyl records did after streaming took over. Collectors, take note.
