Sony goes quiet as ‘Don’t Kill the Disc’ petition reaches 165,000 signatures

A petition urging Sony PlayStation to continue producing physical games has reached more than 165,000 signatures, but Sony is choosing stoic silence over a response.

A Change.org petition started by the CEO of a small Canadian retailer with three locations – PNP Games – has now reached 165,640 signatures at the time of writing.

“On July 1, 2026, Sony announced it will end production of physical discs for all new PlayStation games starting January 2028,” the petition statement reads. “New games will be sold digitally, or as a box containing only a download code, with no disc inside.

“A disc is a real game you own. You can lend it, trade it, resell it, gift it, collect it, or pass it down to your kids. A box with only a download code is not the same thing. It is a digital license in plastic packaging. You do not own it. You are renting access that can be revoked, and people have already had purchased movies deleted from their libraries and games pulled from sale weeks after launch.”

As a physical retail location, it’s in the interest of PNP Games for physical products to continue being released. It added: “This is also about jobs. Physical games support an entire industry that an all-digital future quietly erases: retailers, distributors, manufacturers, warehousing and logistics, the pre-owned and trade-in market, and the collector and preservation community. That is thousands of jobs and countless small businesses.”

The petition has received countless comments and videos from signees eager to see Sony continue to produce physical discs for their consoles.

“I’m a physical media gamer, and I refuse to support any gaming company that tells me I don’t have the option to own physical media,” says Stephen, one of thousands of signatories. “I hope Sony will reverse this decision, but if not, then they will cease to get business from me after January 2028.”

Sony goes quiet as the industry reacts

Unusually, the PlayStation X (formerly Twitter) account has gone silent after the announcement.

The account would usually post and share content related to upcoming games on a near-daily basis, but hasn’t posted anything since the July 1 announcement that physical disc production would be discontinued.

Sony later told developers and publishers that they would still be able to make discs, but only for older games released prior to January 2028.

The industry at large has been reacting with dismay at the death of physical PlayStation media. Hideo Kojima said he finds the situation “really sad.”