Former God of War Dev Reveals Sony Knew Ending Discs Would Be 'Enormous PR Issue' and Imposed Strictest Gag Order on Staff

Sony was fully aware that its decision to stop producing PS5 discs would cause a massive backlash, and reportedly issued the 'strictest' social media guidelines ever seen by PlayStation staff to prevent them from commenting publicly on the controversy. This claim comes from Alanah Pearce, a writer on God of War Laufey, who shared the information in a new YouTube video. She stated that the restrictions were the most stringent PlayStation employees had encountered, indicating Sony anticipated significant blowback from the announcement.

Earlier this month, Sony surprised fans by revealing it would cease launching PS5 games on physical discs starting January 2026. While this follows a decade-long shift from physical to digital game sales, gamers who prefer owning physical copies or worry about game preservation have voiced strong opposition. Sony's official explanation, provided by Sid Shuman, Senior Director of Sony Interactive Entertainment Content Communications, cited changing consumer preferences: 'In response to shifting trends in consumer preference, new games will be released on PlayStation Store and at retailers in digital formats only.'

Despite a high-profile petition and constant criticism on Sony's livestreams and social media—even overshadowing unrelated game releases—Sony has not shown any sign of reversing its decision. Pearce suggested Sony likely won't comment further, as they already expected the outrage. 'Sony already knew everyone would be pissed off,' she said. 'People working at PlayStation first-party studios told me that Sony had the strictest social media guidelines for this particular thing that they've ever seen issued.'

The move to all-digital releases is financially motivated. For first-party games like The Last of Us, Sony keeps around 65% of revenue from physical copies, with 30% going to retailers and 5% to manufacturing. For third-party titles, Sony gets a licensing fee of about 15%. In contrast, digital sales give Sony 100% of first-party revenue and a much larger cut from third-party games. As console sales decline due to rising costs, this shift secures more profit per sale.

Over 335,000 people have signed a Change.org petition urging Sony to reconsider, but Pearce and analysts agree it won't change Sony's mind. Dr. Serkan Toto, CEO of Kantan Games, told IGN that even if 500,000 users canceled their PlayStation Plus subscriptions in protest, it would be 'just a drop in the ocean' for Sony. 'I sympathize with physical media fans, but Sony will not reverse this decision,' Toto said. 'They knew what the online reaction would be, and they're waiting for the storm to pass. Digital is just too lucrative.'