PlayStation to End Physical Games in 2028, Effectively Killing the Used Market
The final digital nail in the physical coffin.
It’s only Wednesday, but major publishers have already delivered a batch of painful updates before we’re distracted by all the big releases arriving in September. Ahead of the reported layoffs at Xbox, PlayStation has announced it will exit the physical games market in 2028 and go all in on digital, effectively killing the used market in the process.
PlayStation Will Stop Releasing Physical Games in 2028
Senior Director at Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sid Shuman, announced on the PlayStation Blog that the company will stop producing physical discs for all new games starting in January 2028. After that date, all new titles released for PlayStation consoles will be digital only, including those sold at retailers. In other words, just like Grand Theft Auto VI, you can expect game boxes to contain download codes instead of actual discs. This pretty much confirms the rumors that the PS6 will launch without a disc drive.
The writing has been on the wall for some time. Physical sales now account for only a small fraction of total game sales, and that share continues to shrink every year. CAPCOM announced in May 2026 that 93% of its sales came from digital purchases, and it expects that figure to continue rising. While it’s easy to see why publishers, and now console manufacturers, are moving away from physical releases, the shift comes with several consequences that cannot be ignored.
For starters, physical copies have tangible value. You can buy them used, lend them to a friend, or sell them once you’re done playing, even if the game requires additional patches. A digital purchase, on the other hand, is tied to your account, meaning there is no secondhand market and no way to share or resell your games unless the platform holder allows it. Ironically, game sharing was something PlayStation proudly championed during the PlayStation 4’s launch.
The move also places even more power in the hands of digital storefronts. Unlike platforms such as Steam, PlayStation and Nintendo are generally regarded as having some of the industry’s most expensive digital storefronts, with limited competition and infrequent deep discounts on first-party titles. Refund policies are also extremely restrictive, leaving players with little recourse if they regret a digital purchase. If you’ve chatted with PlayStation support in the past, you know exactly what I mean.
Perhaps the biggest concern with all of this is ownership and the sense of security that comes with it. Because your entire library is tied to your account, losing access to it, whether through a hack, an account issue, or a permanent suspension, could mean losing access to every game you’ve purchased. Just a few days ago, Sony revoked access to purchased digital movies after its licensing agreement with Studiocanal expired, effectively removing more than 550 films from users’ libraries, even if they had paid for them.
It’s hard to feel anything but annoyed by this announcement, especially knowing that Xbox will likely follow suit sooner rather than later. Everyone saw this coming, but I don’t think many expected it to happen this soon. Hug your physical copies a little tighter tonight.
