Sony is refusing to reverse its decision to stop producing physical PlayStation game discs, with gamers, developers and retailers at IFA 2026 in Berlin openly attacking a move they claim will push consumers away from consoles and towards PC gaming at a time when console prices are rising.

The criticism at the Berlin show follows two months of sustained backlash, a consumer boycott, and a petition that has gathered more than 371,000 signatures, none of which has shifted the company’s position.PlayStation 5 Pro

Sony Interactive Entertainment announced on 1 July that disc production for all new PlayStation titles will end from January 2028. New releases will be sold digitally through the PlayStation Store and at retailers in digital format only. Games released before the cut-off will continue to work.

Retailers Warned, Warnings Now On The Box

Recently manufactured PlayStation 5 consoles now carry a printed notice telling buyers that from January 2028 new PlayStation games will only be available for purchase in digital format, and that discs for games released before that date can still be played on the console.

A similar warning has started appearing on retailer product pages for the PlayStation 5.

Boxed product is not disappearing from shelves entirely. Sony has said it will keep selling through physical retail, but post-2028 packaging will contain download codes rather than media.

Sony Defends The Decision

Sony Corp chief financial officer Lin Tao addressed the backlash during the company’s most recent earnings call, confirming disc manufacturing will cease from January 2028 and saying the decision followed a long internal review.

Tao pointed to the broader shift to digital distribution across all content categories as the deciding factor, not just gaming. She acknowledged the volume of negative feedback, said the company understood the emotional attachment many players have to the format, and said Sony would “continue to explore” how to involve gamers in its digital ecosystem.

The commercial logic is not in dispute. Downloads now account for the overwhelming majority of PlayStation full-game sales, and physical software has fallen to a small single-digit share of Sony’s gaming revenue.

Developers And Retailers Break Ranks

Sony’s own first-party studios have been largely silent on the decision.

Outside the company, criticism has come from senior industry figures. Metal Gear and Death Stranding creator Hideo Kojima has described the implications as frightening. Former PlayStation chair Shawn Layden has said publicly he does not necessarily agree with the move. Speciality retailer Iam8bit has issued a statement expressing disappointment.

Developers and retailers who still earn revenue from physical sales argue there are no winners in the transition.

Boycott Fails To Move The Needle

A coordinated consumer boycott, running under the #PSBlackout and #NoDiscNoBuy hashtags, was organised by game preservation group Does It Play? and began on 23 August. Participants were asked to stop logging in, stop playing, stop buying and cancel PlayStation Plus subscriptions. Organisers later extended the action indefinitely.

Sony has not publicly acknowledged the campaign and is proceeding as planned. Neither Sony nor the organisers have released verifiable participation figures.

The Ownership Question

The core objection is digital ownership. Buyers do not own the games they purchase from the PlayStation Store, they hold a licence.

Sony reinforced that point in August with a mass email to users setting out its updated terms of service. Section 1.4 of the PSN terms states that software is licensed, not sold, and grants a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable personal licence. Users who lose access to their account, through closure or a ban, lose access to purchased digital titles.

The same terms allow Sony to begin closing accounts that have gone unused for 36 months. The company must contact the registered email address and allow six months for the user to log in or request the account stay open. Account deletion is permanent.

The timing of the email, days before the boycott began, drew further criticism. The licensing language itself is not new, and comparable wording appears in Sony’s terms going back to at least 2021.