Image: Damien McFerran / Push Square
An Austrian report published alongside confirmation that Sony will cease manufacturing physical discs in January 2028 suggested it would cut its production capacity to just 10%.
The quote, attributable to Sony DADC’s Dietmar Tanzer, said:
“PlayStation currently accounts for approximately 50% of our volume, and of that, approximately 20% are new orders. We are talking about roughly 10% of the volume in 2028.”
But follow-up reporting from journalist Brian Crecente’s Game substack reveals that’s not the case.
He contacted a Sony DADC spokesperson who clarified the language, providing a completely different picture of the manufacturer’s plans:
“To clarify and avoid any misleading information: in that statement Dietmar anticipated an overall product volume decline by 10%, not a decline down to 10%.”
So actually, while the company is retraining to staff to facilitate microlens production, it’s still going to have significant disc manufacturing capacity through 2028 – beyond the cutoff date.
It’s important to note that Sony’s always said it will allow for re-orders of games published before the deadline.
While the spokesperson wouldn’t comment on the company’s plans for 2029 or beyond, I think it’s probably safe to expect a steady downturn in disc manufacturing if PlayStation sticks to its plan.
But this does dramatically change the situation: many had rightly assumed, with the Japanese giant repurposing its factory, that there was no chance of it backtracking.
Now it seems it’s committed to continuing making discs through 2028, with just a 10% downturn in product volume expected.
This certainly gives the firm a little more runway to reconsider, and is an important distinction worth reporting on.
[source game.substack.com]
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As the Editor of Push Square, Sammy has over 15 years of experience analysing the world of PlayStation, from PS3 through PS5 and everything in between. He’s an expert on PS Studios and industry matters, as well as sports games and simulators. He also enjoys RPGs when he has the time to dedicate to them, and is a bit of a gacha whale.