Sony has announced plans to stop selling physical game discs by 2028, a strategic shift backed by years of declining physical sales data. Industry analysis shows US physical game sales peaked at 297 million units in 2009 and have since dropped to just 37 million recently. This long-term downward trend makes the transition to a fully digital ecosystem practically inevitable.
Background
Sony has relied on optical discs as the primary medium for PlayStation consoles since the original PS1 launched in 1994. The broader video game industry has been gradually shifting toward digital downloads and subscription services over the past decade.
- Source
- Ars Technica
- Published
- Jul 24, 2026 at 12:25 AM
- Score
- 7.0 / 10