Sony's decision to stop making PlayStation discs from 2028 has shocked fans and could largely wipe out the second-hand game market, industry analysts predict.
Second-Hand Market at Risk
The used game market has thrived for years, valued at around $7.2bn in 2025 and expected to grow to $13.8bn by 2034, according to Dataintelo. But Sony's move puts those estimates in doubt.
Piers Harding-Rolls at Ampere noted: "Console gaming is the last hold-out for physical media in the gaming sector, but physical product has been declining in importance." He added that in 2013, only 13% of full game sales for Sony consoles were digital, but by 2025 that figure had reached almost 80%.
Without discs, there will be nothing to trade in at second-hand stores when the PlayStation 6 launches, impacting game affordability. New titles like GTA 6 already cost $79.99, and console prices are rising.
Sony Unlikely to Reverse Decision
Dr. Serkan Toto, CEO of Kantan Games, told IGN that Sony is unlikely to change course. "Sony has over 120 million active PlayStation users. Around 50 million subscribe to PlayStation Plus. As a thought experiment, let's say 500,000 cancel in protest, that would be just 1% of that business gone – of course not enough for Sony to start rethinking. Digital is just too lucrative."
Toto added: "I sympathize with physical media fans, but Sony will not reverse this decision. They of course knew what the online reaction would look like, and they now wait for this storm to pass."
Alanah Pearce, a former writer at Sony Santa Monica, said in a YouTube video that Sony anticipated the backlash. "Sony already knew everyone would be p****d off – they knew this. People working within PlayStation first-party studios told me Sony had the strictest social media guidelines for this particular thing they've ever seen issued."
