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Shuhei Yoshida isn’t too worried about PlayStation losing physical games
The former PlayStation Studios president prefers an all-digital library, but Sony’s 2028 disc cutoff raises issues that patches and convenience do not fully answer.
Former PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida is not especially worried about Sony’s decision to stop producing physical game discs for new PlayStation releases from January 2028. Speaking to GamerBraves at Busan Indie Connect Festival 2026, Yoshida said he has become an entirely digital player and prefers having his library available directly from the console dashboard rather than managing and swapping discs.
His comments arrive at a particularly sensitive moment for PlayStation. Sony announced in July that physical disc production for all new games releasing on PlayStation consoles will end in January 2028. Games released before that cutoff are not affected, but new releases after it will be sold in digital formats through PlayStation Store and retailers.
Yoshida sees the disc itself as increasingly optional
Yoshida acknowledged that collectors may lose something important if traditional physical editions disappear. He suggested that special or collector’s editions could still exist as physical packages containing download vouchers, even if there is no game disc inside. That is Yoshida’s expectation rather than a format Sony has formally promised for future releases.
For his own gaming habits, however, the change is less dramatic. Yoshida argued that modern physical releases are frequently accompanied by patches, DLC and other downloaded updates anyway. From that perspective, he questioned whether losing the disc is as significant as some players believe.
Not having a disc, I don’t understand if it’s such a big issue.
Shuhei Yoshida, speaking to GamerBraves
Physical games still offer things digital copies cannot
That argument does not cover the whole physical-media debate. A disc can still provide an independently installable copy of a game, depending on the release, and many titles remain playable without downloading mandatory game data. Preservation project DoesItPlay currently lists hundreds of tested PS5 releases that can be played offline without a required download, illustrating why a physical copy can be more than packaging for an online installer.
There is also the second-hand market. Yoshida explicitly recognised that players who sell completed games or buy used copies at lower prices will be affected by the loss of discs. He pointed to regular digital promotions as one way players can pay less, but a platform sale is not equivalent to a market where retailers and individual owners can independently resell copies.
The distinction matters because a physical copy gives its owner options that a conventional account-bound digital purchase does not. A disc can be lent to another player, sold after finishing a game or bought from a competing retailer. Digital distribution is undeniably convenient, but removing discs also removes those particular forms of choice even when the game itself ultimately receives patches online.
Sony is still moving ahead with its 2028 plan
Sony says the decision reflects consumer preferences moving toward digital media. The company has also stressed that the change applies to new releases from January 2028 onward rather than existing physical games. The announcement has nevertheless drawn strong criticism from players concerned about collecting, preservation, resale and the degree of control a platform holder gains when new software is distributed only digitally.
Sony has not framed the move as an immediate end to every disc already in circulation. Existing releases are outside the announced cutoff, which means physical PlayStation libraries do not suddenly stop working in 2028. The change is about how new games will be distributed from that point forward, making it a long-term shift in the platform’s retail model rather than a shutdown of today’s physical catalogue.
Yoshida’s position is therefore less a claim that physical ownership has no value and more a reflection of how he personally buys and plays games. He accepts that collectors and second-hand buyers have legitimate reasons to care about discs. For players who value a physical copy precisely because it can be stored, traded and, in many cases, installed without relying on a storefront purchase, Sony’s 2028 transition remains a much bigger change than simply swapping one delivery format for another.
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