‘We’re going to cautiously move this forward’: Sony says it hears PlayStation disc backlash but will continue its plans
CFO Lin Tao says it’s exploring how to “engage the gamers” in a “future digital ecosystem”
Sony has broken its silence on the backlash to its decision to stop making PlayStation discs.
The company announced a month ago that physical disc games will be discontinued for PlayStation consoles from January 2028, and the decision continues to see fierce debate online.
Now, during an Q&A session following its Q1 2026 earnings announcement, Sony CFO Lin Tao has addressed the situation, stating that Sony had been giving the decision to go digital-only some thought for a while before announcing it, and that it doesn’t plan to change its mind.
“We announced that from January 2028 onwards we will no longer be manufacturing game discs, so [we announced it] one and a half years ahead,” she said (via Sony’s interpreter).
“There are various reasons we made this decision, the biggest being that digitalisation of contents overall has been progressing, that’s the big factor. It’s not just for PlayStation, but for all kinds of content, digitalisation is progressing.
“And so, when we think about the future, we put in a lot of thought and time, and we cautiously considered this, and we came to this conclusion, and we’re going to cautiously move this forward.”
Tao also acknowledged the backlash to the decision on social media for the first time, stating that while Sony was aware of players’ reaction to the news, its focus was on how to keep them interested in PlayStation games when it goes all-digital.
“We understand those emotions”
“To this decision we have received various opinions, and people have strong views, and we understand that the community has put forward those views to us,” she explained.
“Games are loved by many people, it’s a form of entertainment that’s loved by people, and it’s connected to people’s fond memories in many cases, and so we understand those emotions.
“We want to consider that, and in the future digital ecosystem ‘how do we engage the gamers’ is something that we would like to continue to explore.”
In recent weeks, numerous developers have spoken out in favour of disc releases for games, with some saying they believe the release of a physical, tangible product is an important part of the game-playing process.
The CFO of Clair Obscur studio Sandfall Interactive, Guillaume Broche, recently said of Sony’s decision: “Personally, I find it super sad because I really like video game stores. And even if nowadays, I play mainly on PC myself, we have a lot of people on the team who play on PS5 and love to collect physical discs.
“I think it’s part of the beauty of art too – that it’s something tangible that you can touch. I completely appreciate that people want to have their rows of DVDs and games and just feel that they own them. So I think it’s a shame. I mean, business-wise, I can understand why it may make sense, but I think in terms of the artistry of video games, it’s a sad decision.”
