Starting in January 2028, Sony will stop producing physical discs for PlayStation consoles and will fully switch to a digital model for distributing games.
In the future, users will have to download games through the company’s online store.
“This is a natural direction for Sony Interactive Entertainment given consumer trends, as overall demand for digital media significantly outpaces demand for physical discs,” the company said in a statement.
Sony said the transition would allow it to better align with how most users today prefer to access and play games.
The company stressed that this will not affect games scheduled for release before the start of 2028: they will still be released on discs.
Sony will thus become the first major console manufacturer to fully abandon physical media.
Both Sony and Microsoft have already released cheaper digital versions of their consoles without disc drives. However, the main models of the devices have continued to support physical games and Blu-ray.
Sony explains the decision by saying that consumer preferences and the entertainment industry as a whole continue to shift from physical discs to digital formats.
At the same time, the announcement immediately drew a sharp reaction from players on social media. Many of them have spent decades collecting games for different platforms, and now, on Sony devices, will be forced to switch to a digital library.