More than two months after Sony announced it would completely halt physical disc production for new PS5 games starting in 2028, claims have surfaced that a large-scale survey sent to developers included questions regarding physical disc sales.
Tom, host of the YouTube channel 'Moore's Law Is Dead' which primarily covers industry rumors, claimed on a recent episode of his podcast 'Broken Silicon' that Sony recently sent an unusually extensive survey to developers.
Citing sources, he described it as "nearly the largest survey Sony has ever sent to developers," reporting that it indirectly included questions asking whether there are issues with the way games are physically sold. While not phrased directly, it was effectively a set of questions to gauge developers' reactions to the phase-out of discs.
This survey comes after Sony announced on its official blog in July that it would completely stop manufacturing physical discs for new PlayStation games starting January 2028. At the time, Sony stated it was "a natural decision aligned with shifting consumer preferences toward digital." However, looking strictly at player reactions, it was far from a natural shift.
Hideo Kojima voiced concern sharing the industry's broader anxiety, describing the decision as "scary." Former Blizzard head Mike Ybarra also demanded that "Sony must clearly promise not to revoke digital games from users."
Backlash from players manifested in action as well. The physical media preservation community "Does It Play?" organized the "#PSBlackout" campaign in August, calling on players to turn off their PlayStation consoles for a week and refrain from logging into PSN or making purchases on the PlayStation Store. The campaign targeted not only the disc issue, but also accumulated frustration over Sony's broader recent actions, including the closure of Bluepoint Games, a strategy centered on live services, and reduced support for PS VR2. Separately, an ongoing petition demanding the continuation of physical discs grew significantly, surpassing 300,000 signatures.
Despite this, Sony has shown no official change in stance. During a recent earnings call, Sony CFO Lin Tao offered a principled response, stating, "At present, no impact on the business has been observed," while adding, "We understand that users have an attachment [to physical discs], and we will continue to deliberate on how to respond to those voices."
Looking solely at the revenue structure, speculation suggests that Sony's transition to digital will boost profitability. This is because manufacturing, distribution, retail margins, and separate licensing fees borne by third-party studios account for a significant portion of profits generated from physical disc sales. Furthermore, digital sales revenue continues to see strong growth.
However, looking at individual titles, physical discs are estimated to account for anywhere from a low of 20% of total sales to nearly 47% in cases like Astro Bot. While digital overwhelmingly dominates overall revenue share, physical disc sales still account for more than a third of revenue for certain titles.
The existence of this survey remains unconfirmed by Sony. Furthermore, whether the survey was actually sent out, what responses were received if it was, and whether the results will lead to a policy change all remain uncertain. Given that Sony has already locked in a specific implementation date of January 2028, it is unlikely that this belated gathering of opinions will lead to an actual reversal. However, it seems clear that Sony still has many challenges to address, such as designing compensatory measures following the digital transition or creating alternatives for offline retail channels.
