Sony will reportedly continue to support physical PlayStation games after 2028. However, the company's definition of “support” appears to be narrower than consumers might expect, and it won't stand in the way of Sony's efforts to wind down PS5 disc production.
In a blog post on July 1, Sony announced that it will end physical disc production for PlayStation consoles in January 2028. The phase-out will end disc production for both PS4 and PS5. The move sparked widespread controversy among fans, with some online users calling it anti-consumer and a strong argument against owning future Sony consoles.
Physical PS5 games aren't going away, technically
After publicly announcing plans to end PlayStation disc production, Sony reportedly contacted partner publishers and retailers to assure them that they would continue to support physical PlayStation games beyond 2028. According to Game File, the announcement describes two forms of continued support: reorders of physical games released before January 2028 and orders of physical games without discs. It is currently unclear what the latter category will mean. Boxed codes have long been the industry standard, most recently underlined by the “physical” release of GTA 6although the end of disc production means that large boxes may no longer be the standard format for packaging these codes. Instead, Sony could explore options such as physical gift cards.
