Many game organizations are disappointed by Sony’s decision to “discontinue” physical discs – Game News

Early last week, Sony caused surprise when announcing plans to stop producing physical discs for new PlayStation games from January 2028, to switch to a completely digital model.

This decision of Sony immediately faced a wave of protest and expressed deep disappointment from many game companies, independent publishers, as well as game heritage preservation organizations.

Some game developers and publishers have expressed their attitudes and feelings as follows:

+ Iam8bit

Iam8bit is a unit that specializes in producing limited edition, high-end collections for physical games, most recently the Blue Prince Commissary Bundle and special edition of Fear the Spotlight for PS5, with exclusive disc and cover designs.

Jon Gibson and Amanda White (Co-owners and Creative Directors) said:

“We are extremely disappointed by the decision to suspend physical game production in 2028 Sony. Physical games are vital to game preservation, ownership, and consumer choice – values ​​that have guided iam8bit since our first physical release in 2016. Our commitment to these values ​​remains unchanged. Long live physics games.“

+ ATARI

The legendary gaming franchise is famous for its exceptional physical releases; Their subsidiary Digital Eclipse has just announced a premium physical version of the Barbie Rewind for PS5 and Nintendo Switch 2 comes with a Barbie doll, and there are also special editions of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind and The Thing: Remastered.

ATARI representative shared:

“We remain committed to game preservation and creating products for fans who consider collecting physical editions an important part of their gaming experience, along with physical items that allow them to celebrate their favorite titles.

We strive to make the games we develop and publish as accessible as possible, including distributing physical versions whenever feasible. As the market evolves, we will continue to explore new and exciting ways to satisfy collectors’ needs.“

+ Silver Lining Interactive

The Manchester-based publisher, which regularly releases physical editions after digital launches, sees it as an extremely profitable part of its business thanks to strong retail and wholesale markets.

In a statement on LinkedIn, the company said it “clearly disappointed by this news” and emphasized “There is still a large community of customers who prioritize and cherish their physical game collections“, and added:

“We’re working with PlayStation to understand exactly how this transition will be made and what it means for independent publishers. While we seek clarity about the future, we want to provide absolute certainty about the present: this policy will not impact our current game library.

The industry landscape is still slowly stabilizing following this announcement, but whatever the future holds, Silver Lining Interactive remains committed to both its developer partners and players.

We will maintain physical media as long as players want it. We believe strongly in giving the community choice wherever possible, and will continue to work hard to deliver games in both digital and physical formats, whether that be discs, cartridges, key cards or code-in-box versions. It’s time for us to put on our ‘creative hats’ to see how we can continue to bring games to physical formats.“

+ Lost in Cult

Lost in Cult is a game book publisher with a focus on high-quality art and physical editions for indie games, and operates a curated label for indie titles that can be played offline on PS5 and Switch. Paper Trail, The Excavation of Hob’s Barrow, Thank Goodness You’re Hereand Immortality.

The company representative emphasized:

“As a company on a mission to preserve video games, we are deeply saddened by the recent news from Sony PlayStation on ending production of physical discs from 2028. We aim to do everything in our power to preserve video games as best we can and will continue to do so where possible.“

+ Limited Run Games

Limited Run Games is a company that specializes in collaborating with developers to create physical collectibles and souvenirs, their latest release is Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition for Switch 2, comes with physical items, soundtrack CD and steelbook.

This unit is posted on the website:

“The decision to move completely to digital of Sony marks the end of an era, and we understand why Econometrics points in that direction for a platform owner of such scale.

We’ve spent a decade, side by side with the fans and collectors who kept this fire burning long before us – to prove that people still want to get their hands on their games, to own them outright and keep them on the shelf forever. We will not slow down this pace either.“

+ Strictly Limited

Strictly Limiteda publisher specializing in standard, deluxe, and collector’s edition physical editions of digital titles across a variety of platforms.

Sascha Hoffmann-Nowak (Head of Sales) commented on the physical versions:

“…very relevant when it comes to ensuring player ownership and preserving video games as part of our cultural heritage. We will continue to release physical PS5 games for as long as it is possible, and will continue to publish physical versions of games, regardless of the platform they appear on, even as those platforms develop innovation.

We already have a different approach to physical editions for such releases.“

+ Video Game History Foundation

Video Game History Foundationa nonprofit organization dedicated to archiving, preserving, and communicating the history of the video game industry.

Frank Cifaldi (Organization Director) analyzed from the perspective of professional storage:

“From the perspective of professional conservationists, this is not as impactful as you might think. The reality is that the vast majority of video games produced in the past two decades were not created for dedicated home consoles, let alone pressed onto physical media. And even if they are released on physical media, a day-one digital patch is almost a certainty, meaning that although the disc is preserving data in an accessible way, it may not be representative of the game people actually played.

What continues to confuse us is what the industry expects organizations like ours to do about it. If platform owners decide to phase out physical media and older digital stores, we would also like to see trade groups like the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) come up with meaningful solutions so that archives and museums can legally preserve purely digital content and make it accessible for research purposes.

Everyone agrees this is a “serious problem”, but ESA has consistently opposed efforts by cultural heritage organizations to reform digital copyright protection laws, to make this job easier. The industry needs to come to the table seriously on this issue, because asking museums to download a copy of Grand Theft Auto 6 and hoping that it will run for another 50 years is not a conservative solution.”

Besides the “death” of physical discs in 2028, Sony also confirmed that it will officially close the PlayStation Store online store on PS3 and PS Vita systems in July 2027, meaning that users will not be able to purchase any new content after this time.