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Sony holds firm on ending physical media
July 31, 2026
Sony says it will not reverse its move away from physical media, as petitions and protests continue and licensed titles begin leaving its stores.
The Guardian reports that Sony will delete 551 movies and TV shows from the UK PlayStation store in September, including the John Wick films, Paddington and Terminator 2, because its content licensing agreement with StudioCanal has expired; MPR News corroborates. The deletions give the abstract fight over digital ownership a concrete cost: titles customers bought access to will disappear on a licensing timetable they never saw.
Eurogamer carries a Sony executive's argument that the shift away from discs reflects digitalization across all kinds of content, not just PlayStation, and reports the company will not backtrack despite petitions, protests and blackout campaigns. The Verge likewise reports Sony is pressing ahead with dropping discs despite the backlash. The four outlets tell one story from two angles: the consumer cost in expiring licenses, and the corporate resolve to absorb the protest.
Every claim on the record is corroborated and nothing is contested. The account rests on four outlets, and its breadth, not its accuracy, is the limit.
Still developing
The scope of Sony's plans beyond the September deletions, and any company response to the petitions and protests, go unaddressed across the four outlets.
How settled the reporting is
Sources
- The Guardian — The great PlayStation blackout – will kids actually have to leave their bedrooms this summer?
- MPR News — PlayStation will stop making game discs. Here’s what it means for prices
- Eurogamer.net — "It's not just for PlayStation, but for all kinds of content, digitalization is progressing" Despite petitions, protests, and blackouts, Sony won't backtrack on its decision to kill off physical media
- The Verge — Sony pushes forward with ditching discs, despite backlash