Following the Q1 FY2026 Consolidated Financial Results, Sony Chief Financial Officer Lin Tao confirmed during an earnings call that the company still intends to stop creating and selling physical PS5 game discs and “cautiously” continue toward that goal after hearing “various opinions.” This is the second statement regarding the decision, as the announcement at the start of July 2026 noted the company plans to end retail copies in January 2028. It follows the release of things like the digital-only console. [Thanks, Ethan Gach and Kotaku!]
Here is the full video clip Gach shared of Lin Tao’s translated statement regarding the end of physical PS5 discs as the company moves to digital-only games. She started by saying this will happen in one and a half years, and that “digitalization of content” is the “biggest” motivating factor. The CFO did acknowledge the feedback and opposition, as the statement noted, “…We have received various opinions and people have strong views, and we understand that the community has put forth those views to us.” However, that wrapped up with Tao suggesting Sony will “consider” those.
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Sony responds to the backlash over ending PlayStation discs.
“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…” pic.twitter.com/qRKkEX6TN3
— AmericanTruckSongs9 (@ethangach) July 31, 2026
Following that announcement at the start of July 2026, people spoke up regarding the end of PS5 games appearing physically on discs. A Change.org petition against the decision called “Don’t Kill the Disc: Tell Sony to Keep Physical PlayStation Games” appeared and received over 352,940 signatures as of 11am ET on July 31, 2026.
As a reminder, this isn’t the only approaching PlayStation cut-off. The PS3 and Vita PlayStation Stores will close worldwide in July 2027.
Sony will stop making and selling PS5 games on physical discs in January 2028.
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