Yesterday's big news put Sony in the spotlight, as the Japanese corporation announced its intention to stop making PlayStation discs starting in January 2028. Later in the day, a rumor from Windows Central suggested Microsoft is gearing up to follow suit with its next-generation Project Helix Xbox, though it remains unconfirmed for the time being.
As for Sony, though, it had to deal with significant online backlash, especially once players understood that this meant the PlayStation 6 would inevitably be disc-less-only. However, that's far from the only thing analysts took away from the announcement. For instance, Piers Harding-Rolls, games industry analyst at Ampere, reckons that the PS6 will be released in late 2028:
This announcement telegraphs quite a lot of information about Sony’s plans for its next-generation console, the PlayStation 6. First, we believe this almost certainly guarantees that the PS6 won’t arrive until 2028 at the earliest. Ampere’s current expectation is that the console will launch at the end of 2028. Second, at a minimum, the standard version of a PS6 will not include a physical media disc drive. Sony will be looking for all the ways it can reduce the cost of its next-gen console, and this is an easy win. It’s possible that an add-on disc drive could be made available to play older PS4 and PS5 games on disc. Removing the drive will upset some gamers that don’t want to pay for an add-on disc drive (if available) and that want to access their game collections on disc. It may be too impractical or too complex, but some process of transferral for older physical media to a digital license could alleviate some of these issues.
This contradicts the hardware leakers, who maintain that there isn't much sense in delaying the PlayStation 6 (and the next Xbox), given that there's little hope of component prices getting any better anytime soon. It is, however, in line with a Bloomberg rumor published earlier this year, which cited sources suggesting a possible delay of the PS6 into 2028 or even 2029.
In the blog post published on Ampere's website, Harding-Rolls also explains the digital shift: in 2013, when the PlayStation 4 entered the market, only 13% of game sales were digital. Fast-forward to 2025, and Ampere data shows that 80% of sales are now digital, signaling a massive downward trend for retail sales. That's largely why Rockstar isn't bothering with producing Grand Theft Auto VI discs, either.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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