Starting in January 2028, Sony will discontinue production of physical discs for new PlayStation games. At the same time, the company has announced the phased closure of the PS3 and PS Vita stores.
Games have an expiration date at Sony. According to an official announcement from Sony Interactive Entertainment, discs for new PlayStation games will no longer be produced starting in January 2028.
From that point on, new titles will be available exclusively on the PlayStation Store and from retailers—though only in digital formats. Games that have already been released on disc or are scheduled for release before January 2028 are expressly not affected by this change.
According to Sony, interest in physical media is waning
Sid Shuman, Senior Director of Content Communications at Sony Interactive Entertainment, attributes the decision to a shift in consumer behavior:
This is a logical step for Sony Interactive Entertainment to adapt to consumer trends, as the general preference for digital media clearly outweighs that for physical media.
This change will allow us to better align with the way the majority of our community prefers to access and play games today.
Physical editions, however, will not be completely phased out; details on what content they will include have not yet been disclosed. The most likely scenario is that they will now simply contain a piece of paper with a download code inside an otherwise empty case—along with any collector’s editions.
The announcement comes (almost) simultaneously with two other announcements from the PlayStation manufacturer:Among other things, Sony recently announced that several hundred movies will be deleted from PlayStation accounts—even if you purchased them.
In addition, the digital stores for the PlayStation 3 and PS Vita will be gradually shut down. In some countries, this will take effect as early as this coming August; in Germany, the stores for these consoles will close in July 2027.
Sony justifies this move by citing the ongoing development of the PlayStation Store—and states that the PS3 and PS Vita are “no longer capable of supporting these updates to the extent required.”
