An online petition calling on Sony to reverse course on their announced end to physical game disc production has passed 125,000 signatures on Change.org, and is likely to pick up a head of steam in the coming hours and days.
The statement by Jade Pearce, owner of independent Canadian game store PNP Games Inc., covers a lot of ground, extolling the virtues of a physical good for ownership, second hand and lending games – noting the irony of Sony and also the impact that this will have on local economies, from the small businesses built around games to the wider infrastructure of warehouses and shipping.
“We are not against digital.” Jade writes, “We are against digital being the only option. A large and passionate community still wants a real, physical game they own outright, and Sony is about to take that choice away.
“Sign to tell Sony to keep disc-based games alive beyond 2028, so the next generation can own the games they play, not just rent them. If we do not speak up now, the disc disappears, and the choice goes with it.”
The petition was launched shortly after Sony’s announcement, picking up 40,000 signatories in its first 48 hours, and has now passed 125,000.
It’s hard to know what kind of a figure it would take for Sony to actually change course, though. Online voices and push back have been able to change their business plans in the past, from reversing course on requiring PSN for Helldivers 2 on PC in 2024, to halting the 2021 shutdown of the PS3 and PS Vita stores (which is now back on the table five years later), Horizon Forbidden West’s PS5 upgrade fee, and more.
However, it could be difficult for Sony to change course at this point, as they’ve already started the process of shifting their manufacturing plants away from disc manufacture, purchasing new equipment to make optical microlenses at the DADC plant in Austria, and informing staff of forthcoming changes. Disc production will not be entirely shut down, and it’s reported that Sony has told publishers that they will still be able to book disc production runs, so long as their game was released in 2027 or before, and they use a new ordering process.
Disc production needs are already significantly lower than they were a decade ago, and the balance is shifting heavily from physical to digital, but while there’s an 80:20 split for Sony, Niko Partners analyst Daniel Ahmad noted that they still sold over 70 million physical discs in 2025. Will that number reduce through 2026 and 2027? Almost certainly, but a more gradual ramp down would be preferable for the market, if not Sony’s team of hardware designers who might now have to figure out how to handle a disc drive again.
Source: Change.org
