Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot commented on Sony’s plan to stop shipping physical games for PlayStation from January 2028. He framed the shift to digital as something that carries upsides and downsides and, in his view, won’t upend the industry overnight. During an investor address, Guillemot recalled how PC gaming moved away from boxed copies — i.e., downloads became the norm — and argued that going fully digital broadened that platform’s audience. He also floated a practical knock-on effect: if consoles don’t need disc drives, manufacturers could cut costs, e.g., lower parts count and assembly complexity might translate into cheaper hardware for buyers.
This decision has its pros and cons, but I don’t think it will greatly affect the industry. Yves Guillemot
More than three weeks after Sony’s announcement, backlash hasn’t gone away. Under PlayStation videos on YouTube, you’ll still find threads railing against the loss of physical media; some clips accumulate more dislikes than likes. A Change.org petition has pulled in roughly 340,000 signatures — a loud consumer grievance, even if not a decisive force. For now, there are no clear signs Sony will reverse course: its largest Austrian plant is already preparing to stop making discs and is being retooled to produce optical microlenses. Sony says it has invested about 30 million euros in new equipment and begun retraining employees.