Khaberni - Sony announced on Wednesday that it will stop producing discs for all new games for PlayStation devices starting January 2028, in a step reflecting a complete shift towards digital distribution, as consumers increasingly rely on buying and downloading games online.
The Japanese entertainment and technology company stated that digital downloads accounted for about 80% of the full game sales for Sony in the fiscal year 2025, reflecting a longstanding shift towards digital purchases.
The company explained that new PlayStation games to be released from January 2028 will be sold through the PlayStation Store and through retail stores in digital formats only.
According to Reuters, this change will not apply to games that have been released, or are scheduled to be released on discs, before that date.
On the other hand, Sony announced that it will begin shutting down the PlayStation Store on its older devices, such as (PlayStation 3) and (PlayStation Vita), starting from specific markets this year, with this shutdown to expand worldwide by 2027.
The company noted that devices released 15 and 20 years ago no longer support the secure payment systems used in the modern PlayStation network.
Once the store is closed, users will not be able to purchase new content, but games and content that were previously purchased will still be available for download in the near future.
The PlayStation 3 store in Mexico, Honduras, and Nicaragua will close starting in August, with closures in other markets in Latin America and the Middle East later this year.
As for the (PlayStation 3) and (PlayStation Vita) stores, they will be closed in all remaining markets in July 2027.
