Over 2 lakh gamers tell Sony not to kill physical PlayStation game discs

After Sony announced plans to end physical discs for PlayStation games, an online petition has now crossed over 2,40,000 signatures as gamers, retailers, and everyone else involved in the gaming ecosystem urge the company to keep having physical game discs.

In Short

• Sony to end physical game discs for PlayStation after 2027
• 2.4 lakh petitioners demand Sony to keep making them
• Petitioner says no physical discs removes choice, may impact jobs

On July 1, 2026, Sony’s PlayStation account on X shared an update on physical game discs. Sony stated that from January 2028, it would no longer make physical discs for PlayStation games, moving completely to digital versions, even for physical copies. The post has over 170 million views on X, and now fans are petitioning for Sony to not “kill” the disc.

Canadian retailer PNP Games started a petition on change.org, titled, “Don’t Kill the Disc” on the same day as Sony’s announcement. The campaign urges Sony to keep physical discs for games beyond 2028, giving players the option to still own, collect, trade, or lend their PlayStation games. At the time of writing, the petition has over 2.4 lakh signatures.

Why are gamers demanding Sony to keep physical discs?

You see, when you buy a physical disc for a game, be it a PC or a console like the PlayStation 5, you own the game. This means that you can play the game or even lend it someone, as it is not tied to your online account. You can even resell the game to someone later on.

But with Sony’s decision to end physical discs, this will no longer be possible. Instead, physical copies sold in stores will come with digital codes that let you download the game online.

Keep in mind that GTA VI, set to launch later this year, will not come with a physical disc either.

As per the campaign page, a box carrying only a download code is “a digital licence in plastic packaging.” The petition says an all-digital future puts ownership at risk and could leave players with access that can be withdrawn.

That is, if the platform removes support for your game, you may not be able to play it if you only have the digital version.

The petition also points at gaming expo – E3 in 2013. Back then, Sony had promised that the company would let gamers buy physical discs for PlayStation games at the time – something that it was now planning to end.

While other console makers, Xbox and Nintendo, have not made similar announcements, the petition argues that when Sony, the market leader, ends discs, the rest of the industry may follow the same direction.

No physical discs to impact jobs?

But the petitioner has also framed the issue that could impact jobs and small businesses. In the petition, PNP Games states, “Physical games support an entire industry that an all-digital future quietly erases: retailers, distributors, manufacturers, warehousing and logistics, the pre-owned and trade-in market, and the collector and preservation community.”

This, the company says, can impact “thousands of jobs and countless small businesses,” while also removing consumer choice. Though, the retailer added that the campaign is not opposed to digital sales themselves. “We are not against digital. We are against digital being the only option.”

Sony has defended the change. Sid Shuman, senior director at Sony Interactive Entertainment, said on the PlayStation Blog that the decision was made “in response to shifting trends in consumer preference.” Shuman added the company was adapting to a market in which digital media significantly outpaces physical discs.

As per Ampere analyst Piers Harding-Rolls, Sony console full-game sales were 13 per cent digital in 2013 and had risen to almost 80 per cent by 2025.

- Ends