Sony management may reconsider its strict deadline to abandon physical media amid aggressive actions by rivals and fierce criticism from an angry community.
Initially, the company planned to completely stop producing PlayStation discs by January 2028, but gamers took the decision in a massive boycott, refusing to subscribe and boycotting gaming services. As noted in Eurogamer Spain’s Eurogamer Nitro 1×01 podcast, the December 31, 2027 deadline is likely to be pushed back by one to two years. The move was driven not so much by fan pressure but by Microsoft’s marketing strategy.
The Redmond-based company is rumored to be in private discussions with major publishers to position its next-generation device, codenamed Project Helix, as a platform that fully supports physical media. In addition, Redmond promises that its partners will introduce a convenient system for converting regular boxed versions into digital licenses. This strategy allowed a competitor to fill a niche and attract a large number of fans of classic records against the backdrop of unpopular decisions made by Japanese competitors.