Sony will proceed with its decision to stop manufacturing physical game discs for PlayStation consoles starting January 2028, despite ongoing criticism from players.
Chief Financial Officer Lin Tao confirmed the plan during an investor Q&A session on July 31, 2026.
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Addressing the fallout during the first quarter 2026 earnings call, Tao stated that the company spent significant time considering the move prior to its initial announcement on July 1.
She cited the overall shift toward digital content as the primary reason for ending disc production.
"We announced that from January 2028 onwards we will no longer be manufacturing game discs, so [we announced it] one and a half years ahead," Tao said through an interpreter.
To justify the strategic change, corporate leadership emphasized that digital adoption extends beyond video games into broader media markets.
"There are various reasons we made this decision, the biggest being that digitalisation of contents overall has been progressing, that’s the big factor," Tao said.
"It’s not just for PlayStation, but for all kinds of content, digitalisation is progressing."
Consumer and Industry Reactions
Acknowledging negative feedback across social media platforms, Tao noted that executive management understands the emotional ties players have toward physical collections.
"And so, when we think about the future, we put in a lot of thought and time, and we cautiously considered this, and we came to this conclusion, and we’re going to cautiously move this forward," Tao said.
