PlayStation drops physical media in 2028: farewell to discs

PlayStamp on the end of physical games: all digital by 2028

Sony's announcement that PlayStation will abandon physical media from 2028 has sparked a debate that goes beyond nostalgia for plastic cases. The decision is backed by one figure: most PS5 buyers with a disc drive already purchase their games digitally. With titles growing ever larger (the 50 GB of a Blu-ray falls short against games of hundreds of gigabytes), the disc seems like a technical burden. But the uncomfortable question is who really controls your library.

The digital model: convenience or rip-off

Defenders of the digital format point to today's internet speeds and cloud storage capacity. However, skepticism grows when we remember that servers for purchased movies have already been shut down, leaving users without access. Games face the same risk: if Sony's servers go dark in a decade, what happens to the titles you bought? The comparison with Mega Drive or Game Boy cartridges that still work decades later is damning.

Alternatives that already exist: GOG and the local installer

While Sony pushes toward the all-cloud model, platforms like GOG offer an intermediate approach: downloading the installers and storing them locally, DRM-free. It's the option championed by those who want real control over their games. The lesson of Stadia – which died taking its users' games with it – is still fresh. For now, anyone who wants real ownership must turn to GOG or fall back on emulators and multi-game cartridges like the Everdrive.

The business of short-termism

The Game retail chain has also come under fire: it preferred to sell physical editions that were nothing more than boxes with a download code, rather than making a strategic long-term move. The trend is clear: companies want to eliminate resale and user control over the product. But by 2028, when the disc disappears, the question that remains is: who guarantees that in ten years we'll still be able to play what we buy today?