Sony: You Will Own Nothing
"While users may not like the decision, they also played a significant part in bringing it about."
Okay, you’ll own the console. But purchasing and owning a physical copy of your game will soon be a thing of the past.
On 1 July, Sony confirmed via the official PlayStation Blog that production of physical game discs for new PlayStation titles will end in January 2028.
After that date, new games will only be available digitally. Purchased games will be added to a digital library tied to a specific account and downloaded to the console.
Sony said the reason for the move was that “consumer preferences and the broader entertainment industry continue to shift away from physical discs to digital.”
Further, the move will have a significant impact on the pre-owned game market. In the past, players could trade in physical games after they had finished playing them. Those pre-owned games could then be resold at a discounted price, giving others a chance to play newer titles without paying full price.
For Sony, going fully digital means it can capture almost 100% of every sale without competing against a resale market.
For many others, however, it’s just another step towards owning nothing—or at least, nothing physical. The concern many have voiced is that people don’t truly own the products they purchase. Access can be revoked at any time, and users can lose access for a variety of reasons.
It’s already happened! PlayStation has announced it will remove access to over 500 films purchased by users on September 1, 2026, due to expired licensing agreements. It’s a move that further highlights that digital movie purchases on PlayStation are licenses rather than permanent ownership.
But users not actually owning the product they’re purchasing is something we’ve already come to normalise in other areas of life. When was the last time you bought a DVD? Almost every film we watch now comes through a subscription service or is added to a digital library. Gaming is simply the next inevitable step.
And while many people are outraged that PlayStation is making this move, we shouldn’t forget that it is also largely a response to consumer behaviour.
Would Sony abandon physical sales if the market were still there? Unlikely. But the market isn’t there anymore.
Digital sales have dominated the gaming industry for years, with many major titles generating 80–90% of their sales through digital downloads. Sony says physical software made up just 3% of PlayStation game sales in 2024.
So, while users may not like the decision, they also played a significant part in bringing it about. It serves as a reminder of just how much major companies are shaped by the behaviour of their consumers. We can't place all the blame on Sony. To a large extent, it's simply responding to the market.
Consumers have repeatedly chosen instant access over physical possession, and companies have taken notice. Sony's decision isn't creating a new reality so much as formalising one that gamers have been embracing for years.
If we want to own the things we buy, we'll have to start acting like ownership matters. Until then, expect to own nothing.