A group of gamers is calling for a week-long boycott of PlayStation consoles from August 23 to August 30, protesting Sony's decision to stop producing game discs after 2027.
Protest details
The 'blackout' follows an online petition that gathered over 340,000 signatures. Organisers urge participants to have 'no logins, no play sessions, and no purchases on any of Sony's platforms' to hurt the company's active player metric.
In a statement on social media, the group DoesItPlay1 said Sony has 'continued to grow further apart from its fan base' over the PlayStation 5 generation, citing live service games, the closure of Bluepoint, and the absence of historic franchises like Twisted Metal and Sly Cooper. 'Ending physical discs in 2028 feels like the last straw,' the statement added.
Impact and reactions
The protest would need millions of participants to spook Sony. As of now, the post on X has over 4,500 shares and 13,000 likes, a small fraction of the overall PlayStation player base.
Digital sales far surpass physical ones, and it benefits Sony to abandon discs sooner. Rockstar Games co-founder Dan Houser commented on the issue, saying companies should provide the option of buying games on a disc for those who want it. 'I don't know that I care, but if people want that, I think companies should provide it,' Houser told IGN. He noted the utility of digital updates but also acknowledged the appeal of physical media. For GTA 6, Rockstar is ditching discs in favour of download codes, marking one of the first major games to skip the format entirely.
