Sony is discontinuing physical discs for its PlayStation video game consoles and going fully digital starting in January 2028, the consumer electronics company said on Wednesday.

After physical disk production ends, new games will be available exclusively in digital format from the PlayStation Store, an online shop for PlayStation games, and at retailers. The change will not affect games that have already been released on disc or those that will be released before January 2028, Sony said.

"This is a natural direction for Sony Interactive Entertainment to adapt to consumer trends as the general preference for digital media significantly outpaces physical discs," Sony said in a statement. "This transition will enable us to align more closely with how most of our community prefers to access and play games today."

Sony, originally named Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo K.K, was founded in 1946 in Japan. The technology company produced the first PlayStation in 1994, a gray console equipped with a CD-ROM drive. The company has released several PlayStation generations since then, with the PlayStation 5 being the most recent model. 

The announcement comes ahead of the digital-only release of Grand Theft Auto VI, commonly referred to as GTA 6, which analysts expect will be the most lucrative entertainment industry launch ever. 

Fans have been waiting for the game for over a decade, as its most recent version, GTA 5, was released in 2013.  The launch date for GTA 6 has already been punted a few times, with the game now expected to be released on Nov. 19.

As digital offerings increase, many consumers are moving away from physical media. Video game players spent $1.5 billion in 2025 on new physical video games, the lowest amount since market research firm Circana began tracking the metric in 1995, according to Mat Piscatella, the senior director and video game industry advisor at Circana.

Spending on physical games peaked at $11.6 billion in 2008, Piscatella said.

Edited by Alain Sherter

AFP contributed to this report.

In:

• PlayStation
• Sony