Sony's plan to stop producing discs for new PlayStation games may not remove retail from the equation, but it could change what sits on store shelves. One analyst now expects the post-disc PlayStation retail model to lean toward cheaper digital code cards instead of traditional boxed discs.

Sony announced this week that physical disc production for new games released on PlayStation consoles will end in January 2028. After that cutoff, new releases will be sold through PlayStation Store and retailers in digital formats only. Games already released on disc, and games that launch on disc before the deadline, are not covered by the change.

The retail part of Sony's wording is important. A later partner clarification reportedly told publishers that existing disc games can still be reordered after the cutoff, while new PlayStation releases will be eligible for retail digital-code options. That leaves room for a version of physical retail that sells access codes, not discs.

Piers Harding-Rolls, senior games research analyst at Ampere Analysis, told Game File that moving away from discs could remove unnecessary retail costs for the industry.

"If there is a way to streamline the business of games retail, I generally think it’s a good thing for the industry as it removes unnecessary costs," Harding-Rolls said. "This will help offset pressure on margins from other directions – development and staffing costs for example."

Harding-Rolls said smaller, cheaper game cards could reduce pressure on publishers and retailers if the industry moves away from disc boxes. He also said a fully digital sales chain can make sales easier to track and lower the commercial risk for publishers that still want a presence in stores.

That business argument does not erase the player-facing tradeoff. Sony's disc cutoff has already sparked criticism from collectors, preservation advocates and developers who see boxed releases as more than packaging. Our earlier coverage looked at how the plan hit developers who wanted boxed PlayStation games, including Animal Well creator Billy Basso and Larian Studios publishing director Michael Douse.

The next question is how much of the old retail format Sony and publishers try to keep. A full-size case with a code inside would preserve some shelf presence, but it would not offer resale, lending or offline preservation in the same way a disc can. A smaller prepaid-style card would cut more packaging and production cost, while making the difference between buying a game at retail and buying it on PlayStation Store even thinner.

Sony has not announced the exact format publishers will use for post-2027 retail digital sales. The company has only said new games will remain available at retailers in digital formats, with disc production ending for new PlayStation releases starting January 2028.