- 0-20%: Unlikely - Lacks credible sources
- 21-40%: Questionable - Some concerns remain
- 41-60%: Plausible - Reasonable evidence
- 61-80%: Probable - Strong evidence
- 81-100%: Highly Likely - Multiple reliable sources
80%
Probable
Earlier today, Sony abruptly informed the PlayStation community that no more physical discs would be produced starting January 2028.
While not entirely unexpected, this announcement certainly riled up PlayStation fans, and not in a good way, especially as it portends that the PlayStation 6 will only be discless. To clarify, Sony did not say that outright, but it's kind of implied given that they won't make any more discs right around the time the new console is expected to launch. Still, according to Windows Central, Microsoft is leaning toward the same choice: the next-generation Xbox, codenamed Project Helix, will also be entirely disc-less.
However painful this may be for some gamers, the data largely support this direction. Physical game sales have been in free fall for years, and the trajectory is unambiguous. In the UK, boxed game sales fell by roughly 40% between 2019 and 2024, while digital revenue grew to represent over 90% of total game spending across PC and console platforms combined. The US tells a similar story: the NPD Group (now Circana) has reported consistent year-over-year declines in physical unit sales, with digital formats absorbing virtually all of the market's growth.
Console hardware has been sending the same signal. Sony itself has already shifted production toward digital-only units in the previous generation: the PS5 Digital Edition has outsold the disc-equipped model in most major markets since 2023, and Microsoft discontinued the disc-enabled Xbox Series S altogether, leaving only the discless model in production.
These aren't companies abandoning physical media on a whim; they're following consumer behavior that has been consistent and accelerating, as Sony pointed out in its official announcement today. It doesn't help that component prices for memory and storage are seemingly driving the PlayStation 6 and Project Helix Xbox into the $1,000 price range, and cutting the disc drive is one of the few ways to keep the price as low as possible.
The counterargument, of course, is that while the majority may have gone digital, the minority who still buy physical tend to care deeply about it. They are collectors and/or rural buyers with limited bandwidth, and those in markets where digital pricing is less competitive. Stranding that audience entirely is a choice that comes with a cost of its own, even if the spreadsheet says otherwise.
None of that makes the transition painless. It just makes it, at this point, probably inevitable.
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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