Is Sony having second thoughts about ending PlayStation disc support? The question has arisen following a report that says Sony sent “a bigger survey than they’ve sent almost ever before” to developers asking for feedback about the decision to stop producing disc-based games.
Mention of the survey comes from informed YouTube tech-reporting channel Moore’s Law is Dead and its host Tom (no surname has ever been revealed). “There is a survey Sony sent out to developers – [that’s] what I was told by my contacts – that is a bigger survey than they’ve sent almost ever before, if not ever before,” he said. “And there was a question in it basically trying to ask in a not direct way: is there any issue with how we sell games physically, or something – asking developers for feedback on killing discs.”
There’s no other evidence for the survey’s existence than this, and we’ve asked Sony about the report’s veracity. The news follows reports from Gamescom that industry reaction isn’t favourable regarding Sony’s disc-ending plans. Much of the backlash has been very visible on social media, of course, where Sony has reportedly implemented newer, stricter guidelines to staff because of it. Long-time PlayStation partner Hideo Kojima even spoke out publicly, though his relationship with Sony regarding new game Physint had presumably soured by then.
Sony announced in July it would start ending PlayStation disc production from early 2028, citing dwindling physical sales and digital dominance – characterised as “consumer preferences” – as the reason why. This led to backlash but also confusion about how quickly Sony would end disc production – a factor it recently clarified, stating that disc output would drop by 10 percent in 2028, not to 10 percent. Does this then mean there’s hope for games released in 2028, such as The Witcher 4, to be released on disc? CD Projekt Red previously said it was “powerless” regarding such a decision.
I think it’s wishful thinking that Sony would backtrack on the decision entirely, but I could believe that its pacing of disc discontinuation might be affected, potentially by theoretical survey feedback. But does that then mean we face a situation where some games are allowed to be released on disc whereas others are not? With the discontinuation not due to begin until 2028, there’s more than a year’s worth of time to tinker with plans.
