Sony's decision to stop producing PlayStation game discs threatens to end the second-hand games market, according to analysts. The move, which takes effect after next year, has sparked outcry, but its impact on the used games market has largely been ignored.
While many game retailers are disappearing from the high street, the last bastion in the UK is CeX, a second-hand electronics store with over 380 outlets across the country. The end of PlayStation discs will naturally affect the retailer and other second-hand marketplaces in the long term, especially if Xbox and Nintendo eventually follow suit.
Market value and regional breakdown
According to Dataintelo, the global second-hand game market was valued at $7.2 billion (£5.4 billion) in 2025. This was projected to reach $13.8 billion (£10 billion) by 2034, although that report was published prior to Sony's announcement.
The report claims the driving force behind the second-hand market is the widening gap between the cost of new games and 'consumer willingness to pay', exacerbated by 'inflationary pressures on household budgets'. The lion's share of the £5.4 billion figure came from console games at 42.3%, ahead of PC (31.8%) and mobile (25.9%).
North America is the biggest region, with 36.8% of the market's global revenue, thanks to GameStop, eBay, Decluttr, and Amazon. Europe is second with 28.3%, largely due to CeX. This is ahead of Asia Pacific (24.6%), Latin America (5.7%), and Middle East & Africa (4.6%).
Analysts predict doom for retail
Speaking to CNBC, Wedbush Securities' managing director of strategic planning, Michael Pachter, said: 'Realistically, at least one third of games have been sold historically as used, and the games that were sold used also provided currency to the gamer who traded them in as cash to pay for new games. Bricks and mortar game retail is doomed.'
Kazunori Ito, director of equity research at Morningstar, said he expects the second-hand market to 'keep shrinking and eventually disappear'. He added: 'There is an important difference between players accepting that shift because they see value in it, and having it effectively forced on them by taking away the alternative.'
Short-term survival and future outlook
Stores like CeX will likely survive in the short term thanks to the circulation of current and previous gen games, especially if there's a slow transition, like the jump from the PlayStation 4 to the PlayStation 5. However, if people welcome the PlayStation 6 with open arms, it's hard to see how the second-hand market will survive in the coming years, beyond retro rarities.
The other key factor is how Xbox and Nintendo will respond to this shift. Xbox might follow suit with its planned Project Helix, but as physical game sales are highest on Nintendo consoles, they'll likely be the last one to make the digital-only switch.
