The Way You Buy PlayStation Games Changes Forever In January 2028

Everything must come to an end one day, and in the case of PlayStation gaming, one important era is reaching its final destination in early 2028. According to a new PlayStation.Blog announcement by Sony Interactive Entertainment Content Communications director Sid Shuman, Sony will discontinue physical disc production for PlayStation games in January 2028. In other words, while highly anticipated titles like "Marvel's Wolverine" will still be available in both formats, all games made after the top of 2028 will only be offered digitally.

Citing the preference toward digital media that customers have shown in recent times, Sony is now making a historic shift away from the physical media that has defined console gaming for so long. For users of the PlayStation Store, this is of course nothing new, since it already operates exclusively with digital media. However, the major change is that PlayStation games released after the beginning of 2028 will still be available through retailers but only as digital copies, with physical discs going the way of the dodo on that front as well.

Discussion about fully digital game releases is nothing new, of course. Easily the most prominent example is Rockstar Games' "Grand Theft Auto 6." Its physical edition is set to have the familiar video game box — but instead of a tangible disk, there will only be a download code for, you guessed it, the digital edition of "GTA 6." The announcement has ruffled plenty of feathers, and some stores are refusing to sell "GTA 6" because of it.

Many of the specific reasons why the physical edition of GTA 6 won't include a disk apply on a larger scale, as well. Physical media is on its way out, and the industry is only too happy to help it out of the door. Whether customers like it or not, it seems that the shift toward digital is unavoidable — and with Sony's January 2028 deadline, we now know when it will happen on the PlayStation front.