The View From Japan: PlayStation's All-Digital Future Sparks Concern Among Gamers and Developers — and a Timely Retweet from Hideo Kojima

On July 1, Sony announced that from January 2028 onward, no new PlayStation games will be released on disc. This shift to a digital-only future has drawn widespread criticism over concerns about game preservation and ownership, even in Sony's home country of Japan, where developers and fans have voiced their disapproval.

Hideo Kojima, while not directly addressing the announcement, shared his earlier comments on the dangers of a digital-only future. In two tweets from August 2021, Kojima wrote, "Eventually, even digital data will no longer be owned by individuals on their own initiative. Whenever there is a major change or accident in the world, in a country, in a government, in an idea, in a trend, access to it may suddenly be cut off. We will not be able to freely access the movies, books, and music that we have loved. I would be a have-not. That's what I'm afraid of. This is not greed."

Masami Yamamoto of Shueisha Games, who has worked in game production within the Sony group for decades, discussed how going digital-only might affect publishing timelines. "We’ll have about one-and-a-half months more to really polish the master if we don’t have to make a disc version," Yamamoto said, adding that "even nowadays when day one patches are the norm, if there is a disc version you still need to get the game into a finalized state in which there are no serious flaws that would hinder gameplay." He noted that ideally, the master should be completed two months before release.

Many are concerned that a digital-only future will severely impact Japan's second-hand game stores and market. Voice actor and gamer Masaru Yoshimura expressed shock at Sony's announcement, saying, "My hobby is browsing PlayStation titles at game stores and I prefer physical game cases so this makes me way too sad." Others noted that one of PlayStation's advantages over PC is the option to buy favorite games on disc. "Some people choose to get the PlayStation version instead of the PC version because it's on disc or it's a limited edition physical version," one person commented.

Critics also questioned Sony's timing, as the announcement coincided with the closure of PS3 and PS Vita online stores. "Announcing them both at the same time was bound to make customers anxious and think, ‘Does this mean that corporate decisions could make digitally bought games I bought unplayable at any moment!?’" Moreover, this follows Sony's upcoming deletion of over 550 movies purchased by PlayStation users without refunds, further eroding trust in a digital-only future. "Digital is convenient but it only grants the right to play the game. Owning things seems like it's becoming a value from the past, doesn’t it?" said one X user.

On the other hand, some pointed out that the end of physical games has been foreseeable for a while. Digital sales have been rising, with Sony reporting that 78% of game sales in 2025 were downloads (including games without physical releases). In its PlayStation Blog post, Sony described phasing out discs as adapting "to consumer trends as the general preference for digital media significantly outpaces physical discs."

If physical releases continue, they may be 'code in a box' affairs, like Grand Theft Auto 6's disc-less physical version, which stirred controversy last month. This all points toward a digital-only future for consoles, with both PS6 and Xbox's upcoming console, Project Helix, reportedly launching without disc drives.

In a lighter vein, the official UK Domino's Pizza account mockingly announced it would switch to digital pizzas only in response to gaming industry trends, while KFC also took a jab at Sony.

An IGN poll found that 90% of readers oppose an all-digital gaming future, but recent statements from Sony suggest it is unlikely to reverse course, and the company is already reassigning disc production workers to other areas.