Today, Sony announced that it has plans to end the production of physical discs for PlayStation consoles, starting at the beginning of 2028, while simultaneously announcing the shutdown of the PlayStation Store on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita.
According to a blog post from Sony, games that are released on PlayStation consoles in 2028 and beyond will only be available as digital versions. Physical retailers will still sell the games, but they’ll only be digital formats. This won’t have any impact on games that are released prior to 2028.
Sony claims this decision comes as “consumer preferences” and industry standards continue shifting to digital.
While there are plenty of players who still enjoy owning physical versions of games, this is a trend that’s becoming more and more popular in the gaming industry. Recently, Grand Theft Auto 6 announced that even physical versions of the game will be digital downloads, and Nintendo has made this decision with several Nintendo Switch 2 titles, including the first-party Pokémon Pokopia.
At the same time, Sony announced that the PlayStation Store on the PS3 and PS Vita is being shut down. This process is rolling out in waves based on regions and is as follows:
- August 2026: PlayStation Store on PS3 will shut down in Mexico, Honduras, and Nicaragua
- Late 2026: PlayStation Store on PS3 will shut down in other Latin American countries and countries in the Middle East
- July 2027: PlayStation Store on PS3 and PS Vita will shut down everywhere
Virtual stores shutting down is the exact reason that those opposed to digital-only games have. When these stores shut down, then access to purchase these games also disappears.
Players will still be able to redownload previously purchased titles after the stores have shut down, as Sony said it would keep them up for the “foreseeable future.” However, this doesn’t change the concern that some people have with games being put exclusively on a digital space that can be shut down in the future.
This isn’t the first controversial decision from Sony lately. Despite its soaring profits, PlayStation Plus received a price hike a few months ago, and the PlayStation 5’s price was increased again earlier this year.
