Sony DADC Corrects Disc Phase-Out: 10% Decline, Not a Tenth
The correction shows the disc phase-out is gradual rather than abrupt, and the real obstacle is that Sony has not licensed its proprietary disc production process, leaving no third-party path to keep physical discs in circulation.
Reporting from 1 source: GIGAZINE.
PlayStation announced in July 2026 that it would end disc production for new console games in January 2028. Sony DADC, Sony's optical disc manufacturer, now says the Targau plant's PlayStation disc output will decline only 10 percent by 2028, not fall to one-tenth of current volume as earlier reports suggested. The correction came after Brian Crecente, founder of Kotaku and Polygon, confirmed the figures directly with Sony DADC.
The confusion traces to Dietmar Tanzar, head of Sony DADC, who told Austrian media in July that the Targau plant's PlayStation disc output would fall. Multiple outlets read his forecast as a drop to one-tenth of current volume. Sony DADC's spokesperson now says Tanzar predicted total product sales would decline by 10 percent, not to 10 percent, and declined to give further detail.
The January 2028 halt applies only to new game discs. Games already sold on disc are unaffected, and the spokesperson said reorder discs would still reach the market after that date. Shawn Layden, former chairman of SIE Worldwide Studios, called the situation gloomy but solvable, and pointed to the core problem: Sony uses a proprietary process for disc production and has not licensed it to anyone. Microsoft, by contrast, licenses disc production and outsources it to authorized replicators. Crecente found no company in talks with Sony about outsourcing, and whether Sony will license the technology remains unclear. Niko Partners analyst Daniel Ahmad said the decision is platform-driven, aimed at cutting costs, removing the resale market, and routing all revenue through PlayStation Store.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.
Sources
- GIGAZINE PlayStationによるディスク廃止は思ったよりも緩やか