Sony is moving away from physical discs, will soon only release PlayStation games digitally

rudras · 2026-07-01T18:20:07+0100

Seraphic said:
Also: You'll own nothing and you'll be happy.

Excuse me but it's incomplete....

It's "You'll own nothing, you'll be happy and you will choose to trade your nothingness for even more...
Later the nintendogs will exult first blindly followed by the Sonyst licking the 3 big letter and so on..." :bow:

MikaDubbz · 2026-07-01T18:22:50+0100

I will say this, before shutting down the PS3 and Vita storefronts, Sony should officially unlock/jailbreak both systems with one final update and just say, enjoy. Leaving the rest up to the user.

I mean what's the difference at that point? Devs of those old games stop making money off of them regardless.

I know they won't though, because they can still sell digital versions of those games on the modern storefronts, but that sucks in its own right because those console's games are only available to stream on modern console.

ChibiMofo · 2026-07-01T18:29:08+0100

GBA_4evR said:
I just won't buy Playstation games anymore and move to PC and Nintendo Switch 2.

I also this could mean more interesting things outside of the high end, with options like Steam Deck/Gaming Handhelds, Steam Machine, my Mac with Crossover and Arm Windows VM and Switch make gaming more practical for me anyways. Seriously this is a big gift for Valve's Steam Machine.

You tell 'em! I mean nothing sends a message to Sony about cancelling physical media like moving to mostly all-digital + game key cards Switch 2, or the all-digital Steam Machine, which does not even come with a disc drive and inhabits the PC gamer universe, where physical media was voluntarily abandoned decades ago! Seriously, this won't sell even one more underpowered/unupgradeable Steam Machine. But thanks for the typically illogical GBATemp reply.

MikaDubbz · 2026-07-01T18:32:16+0100

ChibiMofo said:
You tell 'em! I mean nothing sends a message to Sony about cancelling physical media like moving to mostly all-digital + game key cards Switch 2, or the all-digital Steam Machine, which does not even come with a disc drive and inhabits the PC gamer universe, where physical media was voluntarily abandoned decades ago! Seriously, this won't sell even one more underpowered/unupgradeable Steam Machine. But thanks for the typically illogical GBATemp reply.

I'll take a game key card over an only digital copy any day (if I'm particularly caring about physical media anyway).

Having said that, we'd be fools to not recognize that across the board physical media is on the way out. The Switch 3 still allowing for physical media, I'd say it's feasible, but probably very unlikely; but I just can't picture a Switch 4 still having physical media.

This future digital-only reality seems pretty damn inevitable whether we like it or not.

SonyUSA · 2026-07-01T18:46:59+0100

Prepare for Gamestop to fully become a Pokemon and licensed goods toy store! (or just finally go out of business)

LusoPlayer · 2026-07-01T18:51:10+0100

K3Nv4 said:
Were well due to have games over the 100gb mark.

Most games are lower than that. And for the exceptions, you can put a regular single layer Blu-ray for what's left.

IRUZZ · 2026-07-01T18:53:30+0100

I find it funny how they announced killing off physical media and killing off PSN on older consoles in one and the same tweet. It's like they're not even trying to hide it anymore.

DJ-Yoshiman · 2026-07-01T18:54:49+0100

ChibiMofo said:
My physical media is a 28tb hard drive.
Best Physical Media Ever

Saw the headline and expected a full incelgamerboy™ revolt complete with ignorant statements about the market and hate for "greedy" Sony. As per the usual, GBATemp did not disappoint.

"According to the most recent financial report from Sony, only 3% of PlayStation's annual sales came from physical software releases, with projections for that already low number set to fall even further through the end of the PlayStation 5's lifecycle."

I mean how hard is that to understand? I told all of you dickless wonders that the PS6 would be discless. Time to grow up. Physical media is dead and is not coming back. You will temporarily own your games and you will like it.

I mean, if you don't want to be here and converse with all these individuals that you view as "dickless wonders," you don't have to be here. No one is forcing you to. Unless... some one IS forcing you to. If so, please give us some sort of sign that you need assistance!

K3Nv4 · 2026-07-01T18:55:27+0100

LusoPlayer said:
Most games are lower than that. And for the exceptions, you can put a regular single layer Blu-ray for what's left.

https://www.pcgamer.com/biggest-game-install-sizes/

I counted at least 12 over 100GB it won't be long before it's standard especially with 2160p being native and the push to sale more 4k consoles.

LusoPlayer · 2026-07-01T19:06:27+0100

K3Nv4 said:
https://www.pcgamer.com/biggest-game-install-sizes/

I counted at least 12 over 100GB it won't be long before it's standard especially with 2160p being native and the push to sale more 4k consoles.

You keep ignoring the fact that gaes over 100 GB are the exception and that even then you can still add a second disc.

K3Nv4 · 2026-07-01T19:09:09+0100

LusoPlayer said:
You keep ignoring the fact that gaes over 100 GB are the exception and that even then you can still add a second disc.

I also remember when games were 20GB and printed on DVDs for 360 and what not but also got so big Sony came up with the idea to move to BD to fit larger games on discs.

Edit: actually iirc standard for dvd dl was 8.5GB

The Catboy · 2026-07-01T19:09:44+0100

Sony never wants to be outdone in stupid decisions.

ChibiMofo · 2026-07-01T19:10:11+0100

Twinkler1lord said:
How long will it take before ChibiMofo shows up and adds a laughing emoji to every comment he disagrees with, marks the ones he agrees with with a heart, and calls everyone who doesn't like digital-only an “incel” or a “whiny gamer”?

After having vigorous sex with my wife and her best friend (separately) last night, I wasn't up at the crack of dawn to read the latest gamerboy news. Sorry about that. But I'm here now. Carry on, incels!

The Catboy · 2026-07-01T19:10:52+0100

LusoPlayer said:
You keep ignoring the fact that gaes over 100 GB are the exception and that even then you can still add a second disc.

Games being near or over 100GB is the standard for AAA games these days.

retrospect · 2026-07-01T19:18:36+0100

SaudiCraft said:
Wouldn't this just end the secondary market? No more selling or lending games to friends and opens illegitimate account selling/trading on a larger scale as well as piracy.

Yes and occasionally someone says so, like last week from Rockstar. The primary driver is to stop customers selling games on, and the move should be resisted.

SaudiCraft · 2026-07-01T19:20:20+0100

Kingofknights said:
Is the data really true or they cherry pick something? Only 3% physical? If that's the case then you the consumer only has yourself to blame.

Guess I'm also to blame since I also 100% digital. There's no space in the room to store physical.

I think they are the ones forcing that scenario because only prominent games get physical releases day one whereas the vast majority are indie titles that almost never get a physical release and even if they did it come very late like many months after when the momentum has already died out. Taking this as a measurement of how physical games are sold compared to digital is totally biased.

retrospect · 2026-07-01T19:28:35+0100

I don't believe the 3% figure for a second. Maybe by revenue, cos of lot of revenue is from DLC, pay-for-online, subscriptions and micro-transactions, but no way only 3% of game sales are physical.

I hope this announcement damages PlayStation in a very obvious way.

Post automatically merged: 52 minutes ago

SaudiCraft said:
I think they are the ones forcing that scenario because only prominent games get physical releases day one whereas the vast majority are indie titles that almost never get a physical release and even if they did it come very late like many months after when the momentum has already died out. Taking this as a measurement of how physical games are sold compared to digital is totally biased.

Yeah it's probably by unique title and not weighted. Numbers can say anything, and a single word misquoted generally makes the stat untrue.

WiiUNewbie · 2026-07-01T19:33:25+0100

retrospect said:
I don't believe the 3% figure for a second. Maybe by revenue, cos of lot of revenue is from DLC, pay-for-online, subscriptions and micro-transactions, but no way only 3% of game sales are physical.

I hope this announcement damages PlayStation in a very obvious way.

Post automatically merged: 52 minutes ago

Yeah it's probably by unique title and not weighted. Numbers can say anything, and a single word misquoted generally makes the stat untrue.

1. Read the release again. "3% of PlayStation's annual sales." That includes all things PlayStation.
2. The company would not lie about that because they could be sued by their shareholders if they intentionally mislead investors with such statements. So you can assume it is 100% accurate. Plus there is literally no reason for them to lie. If 97% were physical sales, you think they'd still get rid of physical? Please!

Dontuuch17 · 2026-07-01T19:39:30+0100

Weird. I happened to see the Switch 2 only has 64GB max in their storage media literally the day before this news. I then started scrolling around and looking at the storage capacity of blurays to see their max size.

I noticed that the largest size is 128GB but the size of some of the largest games ever outpaced this capacity greatly. I then thought deeper and asked myself why there haven't been any upcoming size increases in bluray in physical game storage to match the need. At that point, I immediately realized it's not advancing because they really aren't planning keep physical games around.

I'm sad about it and I blame the consumer really. I thought as gamers we'd be smart enough to see the industry was trying to bait us in to a corner by promoting "convience"

HideoKojima · 2026-07-01T19:41:18+0100

I heard the news about the physical format. It brings many thoughts.
Since my youth, I have loved physical things. Books, vinyl records, movie booklets, and yes, the plastic cases that hold a world inside them. When you hold a disc, you hold a tangible connection to the creators. You hold the weight of the story.
In Metal Gear Solid, we put the codec frequency on the back of the physical CD case. It was a bridge between the digital fiction and your actual, physical reality. That is a unique magic of our medium.
But technology flows like water; it cannot be stopped. We moved from cartridges to CD-ROM, from DVDs to Blu-ray, and now into the cloud. The digital space allows us to connect instantly across oceans. This is a beautiful thing for shared experiences. Yet, we must remember that digital data does not belong to us in the same way. It can fade if the power goes out, or if the server goes dark.
As long as I am making games, I will always want to create something that remains with you. Even if the plastic disappears, the memory, the theme, and the connection we share through the screen must become tangible in your mind. That is the true preservation.
H.K

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Elon 'The Nazi Saluter' Musk is my dog

Well-Known Member

We're all mad here

Active Member

Well-Known Member

Some sort of musician.

I bribe staff

Active Member

I bribe staff

GBAtemp Official Catboy™: Nnnaaaa

Elon 'The Nazi Saluter' Musk is my dog

GBAtemp Official Catboy™: Nnnaaaa

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

New Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Similar threads

Popular threads in this forum