Recently, Sony announced that, effective January 2028, it will no longer be manufacturing discs for new PlayStation games. This news was met with resounding global backlash, with gamers everywhere coming out of the woodwork to voice their concern about the revelation. It’s no big secret that digital gaming has been on the rise for years, but this move represents an irrevocable step.
In a statement on social media, GAME, one of the largest video game retailers in the United Kingdom and Spain, condemned the move, slamming Sony and stating that they won’t ‘stand idly by’ while this change paints a new future for the industry.
‘Digital and Physical Can Co-Exist’
GAME’s representatives recently took to social media to shout out about Sony’s announcement concerning the future of physical media. From January 2028, no new PlayStation games will be available on a disc, and they’ll be exclusively launched via digital storefronts.
This is a huge issue, as it heavily impacts the used game market, crushes any hope for getting games at a discount, brings back the topic of monopolization, and seriously harms the PlayStation brand identity. This is all despite digital gaming having been on the rise consistently for many years.
There’s a difference between having a choice and having a choice made for you.
This is what GAME said on social media:
Video game lovers, it’s time to defend what matters to us.
The latest decisions we’re seeing in the industry deeply concern us because the affect all of us who understand video games as more than just a downloadable file.
Since the first digital games emerged, we’ve heard time and again that ‘physical games are going to disappear.’ However, it’s been the community’s constant support for the physical format that has allowed it to remain part of how we enjoy video games.
Every time a physical edition disappears, we lose the freedom to enjoy our hobby the way we want: the ability to lend a game to a friend, to resell it, to collect it, to simply keep it, to choose where and how we buy it, without monopolies.
At GAME, we’ve been defending the physical format for 40 years because we know that for millions of players, it’s not just a box on a shelf: it’s memories, collections, special editions, video game history, and, above all, consumer rights.
We’re not going to stand idly by.
They want us to believe this is a natural evolution, but we believe the future shouldn’t be built by eliminating options, but by expanding them. Digital and physical can co-exist; in fact, they have been doing so for years.
We’re aware that the digital format is here to stay, but we don’t want a model imposed unilaterally, but one that guarantees our rights as players and our freedom to choose.
That’s why we’re going to continue supporting the physical format, backing those who make it possible and giving a voice to a community that has been proving for years that it’s still there. This doesn’t exclude the digital format, as long as it’s managed correctly and benefits all video game lovers.
This will be GAME’s fight, but also the fight of a united community that has never stopped defending what it loves.
Ironically, GAME went under a corporate restructuring many years ago and rebranded as ‘GAME Digital’. In a 2019 takeover, another rebrand took place, pivoting back to the original GAME name tag.
The GAME Digital pivot led to a push for online shopping, digital gaming cards and purchasing options, companion apps, and alternative technology being sold in stores, such as mobile phones, tablets, and other devices.
However, for many years in the United Kingdom, especially, GAME was the place to go for used games. That concept has died off in recent years, and again, that’s because of the rise of digital gaming and consoles without disc drives.
Do you think GAME is being overdramatic, or is there a serious cause for concern here? Let us know your thoughts on the Insider Gaming Discord server.
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Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You'll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.
More from Grant Taylor-Hill
Well they’ll go under the majority does not care look at the current games that are popular all digital and especially GTA 6 at $100 complete only digital.