Sony has announced it will stop producing and selling physical discs for all new PlayStation games starting January 2028, aiming to transition to digital distribution and end decades of reliance on traditional discs.

The company explained that all new games released after that date will be available only digitally through the PlayStation Store or through retail stores selling versions containing download activation codes instead of discs.

Full Shift to Digital Releases

Sony justified the decision by citing changing user behavior, emphasizing that demand for digital content now far exceeds physical disc purchases, prompting the company to align its plans with how most players prefer to access and play games.

The decision is part of a broader trend in the digital entertainment industry, as traditional disc sales decline with the rise of streaming and direct download services. The release of GTA 6 is an example: its retail version contains a digital download code inside the box rather than a physical disc.

Direct Impact on the Used Games Market

The decision is expected to directly affect the used games resale market in the future, as platforms like GameStop and eBay trade used discs and sell them at lower prices.

However, Sony confirmed that the decision will not affect games already released or those released before January 2028 with physical discs; those games will still be available for purchase on disc as usual.

It also means that current PlayStation consoles will continue to support game discs, while future PlayStation consoles, such as the PlayStation 6 expected to launch in 2027 or 2028, are expected to rely entirely on digital releases, with retail game boxes containing only activation codes.

Additional Decisions

Alongside this announcement, Sony revealed a plan to close the PlayStation Store on PlayStation 3 consoles in several markets starting this year, with global closure for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita by 2027.

The closure will begin in August 2026 in Mexico, Honduras, and Nicaragua, later extending to additional countries in Latin America and the Middle East by the end of the same year. In other markets, the PlayStation Store will close in July 2027.

The company stated that users will not be able to purchase new content after the store closes, but they will retain the ability to redownload previously purchased games and content for an unspecified future period.

Sony attributed the store closure decision to the lack of support for modern payment processing standards on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita, making it increasingly difficult to keep the store running on these platforms.

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July 1, 2026Last updated: July 1, 2026

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