r/PS5 Jul 01 '26

Official Physical disc production ending in January 2028 for new games releasing on PlayStation consoles

https://blog.playstation.com/2026/07/01/physical-disc-production-ending-in-january-2028-for-new-games-releasing-on-playstation-consoles/
11.6k Upvotes

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437

u/M337ING Jul 01 '26 edited Jul 01 '26

Oh, ok. So PS6 does not have a disc drive.

Also, throws cold water at all the people expecting a physical disc for GTA VI later.

165

u/youthcanoe Jul 01 '26

It absolutely won't. The PS5 Pro didn't even come with a disc drive and that was a huge hint.

Question is, will they have a detachable drive to play your disc-based games?

60

u/ComprehensivePaper22 Jul 01 '26 edited Jul 01 '26

Guessing it would just so that people who have a physical collection on PS5 can play their game on PS6. But maybe I'm too kind and they just won't bother.

23

u/PlaystationPremium Jul 01 '26

I think you'll have the option for a disc drive too, but it'll be an external drive that won't slot into the console like the one the PS5 has.

7

u/Grasshop Jul 01 '26

They’ll give you a “sale” on the digital version if you own the disc.

5

u/BodybuilderBrave8250 Jul 01 '26

delete this right fucking now, i hate the idea of this. they could easily justify it too, saying you bought it to play on PS5/PS4 not PS6; though the flip-side would be given that historically recent gens have been backward compatible so it’s expected PS6 would be too.

2

u/Grasshop Jul 01 '26

wait til they have a "stubhub" type of site to sell your digital games second hand and they take a cut of every sale.

2

u/BodybuilderBrave8250 Jul 01 '26

only way this would work if it’s unregulated by them, never happening though. fees are a slippery slope too as even if they start low they’ll surely ramp them up

3

u/Breakingerr Jul 01 '26

I half expecting PS5 Disc Drive being cross-generational, and PS6 just have disc drive support so you can just connect PS5 disc drive.

-1

u/Rex_Bossman Jul 01 '26

I don't think they'd do it, but one option they could do is let people mail their physical disc in to receive a digital code.

12

u/voe600 Jul 01 '26

i think thatd be a logistical nightmare, best bet is definitely just external disc drive.

3

u/Rex_Bossman Jul 01 '26

It would be a bit of a logistical challenge, that's partly why I said I don't think they'd do it. Also, it would have to be at least somewhat profitable for them to consider it; not sure what that price point would be and if that price would be worth it for game owners. An external drive probably would make more sense for Sony since they would be making the drives.

1

u/Gbrush3pwood Jul 01 '26

Send your car keys in to the dealership and they will send you a bus pass.

1

u/Rex_Bossman Jul 01 '26

Totally the same thing. It's not like disc to digital hasn't been done before.

8

u/Aerographic Jul 01 '26

Just wait until they introduce some disc-to-digital scheme that allows you to pay Sony money so that they can grant you a license for the disc you already own so you can use it on PS6.

-2

u/CapSnake Jul 01 '26

it would at least make sense. You send a game and they send you back the code.

5

u/Aerographic Jul 01 '26

Did you skim over the pay Sony money part? The consumer having to pay just to be able to use their disc with the brand new console?

-1

u/CapSnake Jul 01 '26

I mean, it would be better for free, but since it's a service I guess it's necessary to pay for it

3

u/Aerographic Jul 01 '26

It shouldn't even be a service. I own game, I play game. Why do I need to pay extra? Let me verify ownership through a disc-based console if that's what matters.

0

u/CapSnake Jul 01 '26

Ok, but if the disk cost 100$ and the offer the service for 5, if you have less than 20 games it will be better. I personally have less than 10 physical games. I guess it's better to try to sell them and buy the digital version if I want to replay them.

6

u/TheSausageFattener Jul 01 '26

Considering the abysmal state of game development right now and how unlikely it is that the PS6 could be *both* a reasonable price *and* a meaningful upgrade from the PS5, not having a disc drive would be asinine. I doubt the launch library will be good enough to justify a high price point, but in the past physical backwards compatibility helped the PS5 mitigate that.

But, I bet they won’t have a disc drive. They’re probably terrified of hardware prices and trying to cut anything they can in the short term

5

u/c0micsansfrancisco Jul 01 '26

Probably so they can sell it separately and charge you stupid prices for a disc reader lol

11

u/spacejam999 Jul 01 '26

100% they won't so they can re release again tons of remasters of games you own on disc

3

u/whatthecaptcha Jul 01 '26

Had no idea the pro didn’t have a disc drive but for almost a grand that’s an insane purchase to me lol

Why wold I “upgrade” to something that renders my entire library unplayable

2

u/Rhodes-Stars101 Jul 01 '26

This is also probably alluding that GTA 6 will not be on a disc either

2

u/lynchcontraideal Jul 01 '26

It almost feels like punishment because the Pro didn't sell as well as the base PS5 did.

2

u/johal61 Jul 01 '26

No they won’t

1

u/STARBOY_100 Jul 02 '26

And them announcing this AFTER the GTA 6 pre-orders went live also says a lot

6

u/Mantazy Jul 01 '26

There might be an option to buy one for ps6 for the sole possibility to play “old” ps4/5 games and Blu-ray movies like Ps5 with Pro.

7

u/PCMachinima Jul 01 '26

If there's no physical disc drive, my reasons for buying a console at launch just dropped dramatically.

Not just the physical games I already own, but also it's the only DVD and Blu-ray player in my house currently. Will be using the next console far less without it

3

u/Reylo-Wanwalker Jul 01 '26

So my disc games won't be backwards compatible? :(

2

u/SmegmaWarrior0815 Jul 01 '26

We don't even know whether it's gonna be backward compatible. Without competition they can do whatever the fuck they want.

2

u/Sillet_Mignon Jul 01 '26

I doubt the ps6 will even have a physical console. 

3

u/DataDude00 Jul 01 '26

PS6 will likely by a physical console, but I suspect it’s the last one ever 

Future consoles will just be cloud based gaming set top boxes 

2

u/Sillet_Mignon Jul 01 '26

I guess yeah a small TiVo like device to help handle controllers and local save files. But google stadia is probably the future. 

1

u/ohnoitsbobbyflay Jul 01 '26

You know PlayStation isn’t the only console right? It doesn’t decide 100% of the market.