Sony tells developers they’ll still be able to make discs – but only for older games

PlayStation has told developers that they will still be able to place orders for disc games beyond January 2028 – as long as they’re for titles released before its all-digital cut-off.

The PS5 firm will also offer developers ways to release their games as physical retail products with download codes, according to a report.

Earlier this week, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced to the public that it will stop manufacturing physical game discs from January 2028, meaning that developers will no longer be able to release their own disc games beyond this date.

Sony added the caveat that the transition to digital wouldn’t affect games that had already been released in disc format before January 2028.

Now, a separate message sent to developers and publishers via its private developer portal, seen by Game File, adds some clarification on what the latter part will mean in practice.

For the partner message, Sony made a point to say that publishers “will still be able to place re-orders for existing PlayStation disc games”, meaning that a PS5 game released in 2027 or earlier will still be able to make new copies after January 2028.

PlayStation will still offer some form of retail product for games

Sony told partners that the ordering process for discs will change in some TBA ways, according to Game File.

It also told partners that it will “provide publishers with the opportunity to release new games at retail using digital codes,” with more details to come. Potentially, this could come in the form of download codes in game boxes, like GTA 6’s upcoming physical version.

News that developers will still be able to manufacture older game discs follows a report that Sony’s largest production site is already preparing its staff to move away from manufacturing discs.

According to Dietmar Tanzer, CEO of DADC (which manufactures Sony’s optical media including PlayStation games, Blu-rays and CDs), the plant’s 300 employees were told on Wednesday that it would be undergoing restructuring as a result of Sony’s decision.

Sony has reportedly been anticipating the shift away from discs for some time, and as such, around €30 million has recently been invested in new equipment designed to make optical microlenses instead.

According to Ampere, this week’s disc announcement “telegraphs quite a lot of information” about Sony’s next-generation console, and PS6 is likely to “at a minimum” not include a physical disk drive.