Sony game disc exit draws boycott calls at Gamescom

Sony's plan to stop releasing games on discs from 2028 has drawn criticism from some video game players and developers at Gamescom in Germany, with opponents warning that a shift to fully digital sales could weaken resale, lending and long-term access.

British developer Chris Bastin called the decision "the end of an era" at the trade show. Clemens Istel, a spokesman calling for a boycott, said customers had no sign they would benefit from the change.

Joost van Dreunen, a professor at New York University's Stern School of Business, said digital distribution had been replacing physical media for about a decade and could save publishers the retail margin taken from disc sales.

Sony said in late July that digital downloads accounted for nearly 82 percent of PS4 and PS5 game sales at the start of 2026. The company helped popularise console discs after launching the first PlayStation in the 1990s.

Thomas Bachellerie, a former games shop manager in Lyon, warned that second-hand sales had sometimes made up almost a third of shop turnover, while digital games cannot be resold or lent.

Geoffray Brunaux, a lawyer specialising in digital law, said players do not actually own a game whether they buy it physically or digitally, but buy a licence to play it. The Dutch consumer group Stichting Massaschade & Consument is suing Sony, alleging that PlayStation owners are forced to buy from the PlayStation Store in a way that drives up prices for digital goods.