After Sony announced that it would stop releasing new PlayStation physical game discs in 2028, it triggered a continued backlash from players and the industry. However, the outside world may not only be worried about players’ collection rights, but that this decision may also offend 3A game publishers. Some industry insiders warn that if Sony insists on full digitalization, it may even have conflicts of interest with some large publishers in the future.
I am afraid that the big 3A manufacturers will also start to be unable to sit still.
According to industry analysts, after Sony completely cancels the physical version, game sales will almost completely rely on the PlayStation Store, which means Sony will have more control over pricing, promotion and channels. For large publishers such as Ubisoft, EA, and Take-Two, without physical retail and other sales channels, their reliance on the platform will only increase in the future, which may also weaken their bargaining power.
More importantly, physical versions have always been an important source of revenue for many AAA games, especially strategies such as boosting sales through retail channels and launching collector’s editions at the time of launch, which may be affected. Therefore, some people in the industry believe that Sony’s decision will not only change players’ purchasing habits, but may also reshuffle the entire console game market.
Sony doesn’t seem to be looking back
Analyst Dr. Serkan Toto believes that Sony is well aware that this policy will trigger a huge backlash, but still chooses to push it, which means that the company is ready to withstand controversy and is unlikely to change direction due to dissatisfaction from players or partners. Officials have also confirmed that starting from January 2028, newly launched PlayStation games will no longer be released on physical discs and will fully switch to digital versions.
Sony may believe that digitalization is the future, but the real test may not be whether players will accept it, but whether the major 3A companies that have worked side by side with Sony in the past are willing to continue to play by this set of rules when the platform begins to take over almost all distribution control.