PlayStation to scrap production of new PlayStation game discs in 2028

Published:

1 July 2026

Last Updated: 1 July 2026

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Sony has confirmed it will scrap production of all physical discs for new PlayStation games in 2028, affecting PlayStation 5 and future PlayStation 6 consoles.

In a report by GameFile, now confirmed by Sony, PlayStation will no longer manufacture the game discs for physical games, both for first and third party titles. This means that all game released after the cutoff date, sometime in 2028, will be digital only releases.

The blog confirms that Sony sees this as “a natural direction for Sony Interactive Entertainment to adapt to consumer trends as the general preference for digital media significantly outpaces physical discs.” Physical discs will stop production in January 2028 with no first or third party releases coming in disc form after that.

While physical discs are set to disappear, there is no word on physical game boxes. Sony has stated that games will be available on the PlayStation Store and “at retailers in digital formats only”. After all, Grand Theft Auto 6, the long-awaited game from Rockstar, is releasing later this year as a code-in-a-box release on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series. Additionally, Nintendo Switch has seen numerous products launch as code-in-a-box releases.

This news comes as physical game spending has seen its first increase year-on-year since 2009, largely facilitated by the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2. Nevertheless, PlayStation is set to abandon the physical media space, which could mean that the PlayStation 6 will launch without an option for a disc drive.

The shock end of PlayStation disc production comes after a PR win for Sony’s first-party release of Wolverine. As social media exploded following GTA’s code-in-a-box launch, Insomniac Games confirmed that Marvel’s Wolverine will release on a physical disc. They said: “the physical version will include a disc in box.” Unfortunately, the studio’s future games likely won’t.

At the time of writing, Xbox has not announced any plans to move away from physical discs, although disc releases are already less common on that platform. With Project Helix, the console brand’s new generation machine, allegedly becoming a PC/Xbox hybrid system, that could also point towards a digital only future, leaving Nintendo as the last bastion of physical releases.

Alongside the announcement that PlayStation will no longer produce physical discs, Sony is also closing the PlayStation Store for the PS3 and PlayStation Vita. “PlayStation Store on PS3 and PS Vita will close in July 2027”, Sony confirmed, while adding that players will still be able to download their games “for the foreseeable future”.

About The Author

Lewis White

Lewis White is a veteran games journalist with over a decade in the field. Starting with beloved Xbox website ICXM/XboxMAD, Lewis became the Gaming Editor at MSPoweruser before becoming the Editor in Chief of StealthOptional and Gfinityesports. Lewis later jumped to By Gamers For Gamers where he jumped to become EIC of VideoGamer and the host of the New VideoGamer Podcast prior to the website’s acquisition.

Over the years, Lewis has also seen long-form investigative pieces published in outlets such as Eurogamer, PCGamesN, Wireframe, Retro Gamer, Nintendo Life, and EDGE. Now, as the Editor in Chief of FRVR Blog, Lewis strives to bring the same level of quality journalism with interview-led content to the site in both written and audio form with the FRVR Podcast.

With a First Degree BA Hons in Games Journalism and Public Relations, Lewis has been a stable part of the British games press for over a decade, and has frequently displayed his love of Halo, The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and other games pretty much everywhere he’s worked. And FRVR is no different.

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