The second-hand video game market stands in jeopardy in the wake of Sony’s decision to end the manufacturing of PlayStation discs by January 2028. The market, which analysts estimate is worth $7.2bn globally, could be destroyed as a result of Sony’s controversial move.
That’s according to analysis by Dataintelo (via CNBC), which said the figure represents pre-owned games, console hardware, accessories and peripherals involved in transactions in 2025. The firm estimated it would reach $13.8bn by 2034. Of that $7.2bn, consoles accounted for 42.3 percent of revenue.
North America was the dominant region, and is responsible for 36.8 percent of that sum, or an estimated $2.65bn in revenue. In the US specifically, more than 38 percent of all video game transactions over the same year involved a pre-owned game.
In Europe, the market captured around 28.3 percent of the global second-hand revenue in 2025. Europe is the second-largest market for pre-owned games and hardware, according to the report, with the UK, Germany, France and the Nordics being its top adopters. GameStop, Amazon, eBay, and Decluttr led the market in North America, whereas CEX was the leader In Europe.
Asia Pacific held the third-largest spot, at an estimated 24.6 percent. Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa combined held 10.3 of that trade. Brazil, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and South Africa were the countries that witnessed the biggest growth.
But while some retailers will continue to carry code-in-box, vouchers and other ways of acquiring digital copies of games, most will be devastated by that decision.
“Realistically, at least one-third of games have been sold historically as used, and the games that were sold also provided currency to the gamer who traded them in as cash to pay for new games,” said Wedbush Securities managing director of strategic planning, Michael Pachter. “Brick and mortar game retail is doomed.”
As the report points out, affordability is the biggest reason that pushes players to the second-hand market, though its reach also extends to retro games and hardware. Sony’s decision robs the consumer of much of that choice, as digital will become the only way to obtain games. As a recent report revealed, games are almost always cheaper at retail than they are digitally.
Kazunori Ito, director of equity research at Morningstar, said they expect the market to continue declining, before vanishing entirely.
“There is an important difference between players accepting that shift because they see value in it, and having it effectively forced on them by taking away the alternative,” said Ito. “Most would prefer to make that transition in their own way and at their own pace, rather than having it driven by the end of physical discs.”
It’s worth noting that while Sony’s decision will impact future releases, it has no effect on existing discs currently in circulation. That said, the move is a strong indication the PS6 won’t have a disc drive, which, assuming it’ll be compatible with PS5 games, will likely only support digital copies.
While Microsoft has not announced one way or another whether its next-gen Xbox, Project Helix, will too ditch the disc drive, reports suggest the company is at least working on a way for players to digitise their physical collections.
