Sony stands by its disc-free PlayStation plan
Sony Interactive Entertainment has confirmed it will continue with plans to end production of physical PlayStation game discs from January 2028, despite sustained consumer opposition. During the Q1 FY2026 earnings Q&A on July 31, chief financial officer Lin Tao said the company recognises the strong feelings involved but intends to "cautiously move this forward." She cited the broader shift toward digital distribution across entertainment as the main driver, adding that the trend is not unique to PlayStation. Asked how the move would differentiate the console from gaming PCs, Tao pointed to curated content, a stable game environment, and lower pricing than high-end PCs.
Backlash grows from players, retailers and creators
Sony's earlier announcement has drawn more than 300,000 signatures on a petition urging the company to retain discs, according to Video Games Chronicle, while NME puts the figure above 345,000. Hideo Kojima publicly called the move "scary" and "frightening," and the UK Entertainment Retailers Association said the plan harms both players and retailers. Sony said it is engaging regional partners to find "win-win" solutions, with Tao noting that publishers already sell code-in-a-box releases without discs in North America. Sony's largest disc plant in Austria is reportedly being reassigned to optical microlens production, with around €30 million invested in new equipment and staff retraining already underway. Fans have separately announced a week-long PlayStation economic blackout for mid-August, and some are boycotting the upcoming Grand Theft Auto VI release in protest.
Record forecast for FY2026
Sony raised its gaming division operating income forecast for FY2026 (ending March 31, 2027) from ¥600 billion to ¥660 billion (approximately $4.1 billion), a figure Push Square said would eclipse Nintendo's prior industry high of ¥640 billion set in FY2020. The company lifted its full-year consolidated operating income forecast by 8% to 1.72 trillion yen and revenue guidance by around 2% to 12.5 trillion yen, citing US tariff refunds, favourable foreign exchange, and improved costs. Variety reported a 37% year-on-year rise in Q1 PlayStation operating income to ¥202.0 billion (about $1.27 billion), driven by the tariff refund benefit, though Game & Network Services sales were described as essentially flat at ¥937.1 billion.
PS5 hardware shipments and next-generation investment
Q1 PS5 hardware shipments were reported as 1.5 million by Variety, 1.6 million by Metro and ABC News, and 1.38 million by Kotaku, reflecting different counting or rounding approaches. Lifetime PS5 sales were put at 95.3 million by Kotaku and Metro, while ABC News reported "more than 93 million." Sony said it is increasing investment in next-generation hardware, which Metro and Push Square linked to preparation for a possible 2027 or 2028 launch. PlayStation Network monthly active users reached 125 million in June, up 2% year-on-year and a record for that month, while the digital-to-physical sales ratio in Q1 actually narrowed by 1%.
Memory supply secured through the GTA 6 launch
Sony told investors it has secured sufficient RAM to meet projected PS5 sales through FY2026 and into early 2027, addressing an AI-driven industry-wide memory price crunch that has already pushed the base PS5 price up by $100 in March. The company expects a significant lift from Take-Two Interactive's Grand Theft Auto VI in November, alongside first-party releases including Marvel's Wolverine in September and God of War Laufey in February 2027. Sony also flagged "adjustments to the FY26 first-party title roadmap" as a negative factor, which Push Square and Metro suggested may reflect delays to titles such as Until Dawn 2 or Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet.
Share this article
