Sony Is Ending Disc Games in 2028. Here's What That Actually Means for Your PS5.
On 1 July 2026, Sony confirmed via the PlayStation Blog that physical disc production for new PlayStation games will end from January 2028. From that point on, every new game released on PlayStation will be sold either through the PlayStation Store or through retailers in some form of digital format. Games already released — or due to release before January 2028 — are unaffected. But the question UK console owners are asking right now is simple: does this make a disc PS5 worth more or less?
The answer isn't as clean as either side wants it to be. Here's the honest breakdown.
Why Sony Did This — and Why It Was Always Coming
Sony's justification was blunt. Physical game distribution accounted for just 3% of PlayStation's revenue in 2024, with digital sales utterly dominating the rest. The economics had been pointing this way for years — Sony keeps roughly 65% of a physical sale once retailers and manufacturing costs are accounted for, versus the full revenue on a digital sale. The move isn't a surprise; the PS5 Pro launched in late 2024 without a disc drive, and Sony's largest disc manufacturing facility is already pivoting to produce optical microlenses, with around $33 million invested in new equipment for that transition. This is not a company reconsidering its position.
The backlash, however, has been substantial. A petition calling for reversal crossed 300,000 signatures. The UK's Entertainment Retailers Association — whose members include Game, HMV, Asda, and Morrisons — condemned the move publicly, citing £300 million in annual UK physical game sales and ERA consumer data showing that 25% of under-25s still use discs for gaming. That's a quarter of Sony's youngest audience still actively choosing physical media. ERA CEO Kim Bayley called the decision "a triumph of corporate convenience over consumer choice" — and given the numbers, it's hard to dismiss the framing entirely.
The Resale Argument: Two Sides, One Honest Answer
There's a camp saying the disc PS5 will become more valuable as a collector's item — the last generation that could play physical games. There's another camp saying demand will crater once the supply of new disc games dries up. Both camps are overstating their case.
Here's what the used market actually tells us. Disc PS5 consoles have consistently commanded a premium over their digital counterparts — typically in the range of £30–£60 more in the secondhand market, even as both models have aged. That premium exists because disc ownership provides flexibility: used games, Blu-ray playback, lending to family, and resale value on individual titles. Those advantages don't vanish the moment new disc releases stop. Every disc game released up to January 2028 remains playable, tradeable, and resellable indefinitely.
What does change is the pipeline. After January 2028, no new titles will arrive on disc. So the collector case for a disc PS5 strengthens slightly — but only for people who genuinely value a growing physical library frozen in time, not for the average family who just wants to play the latest releases. For that household, a disc PS5 becomes progressively less useful as a primary gaming device, because the games they actually want to play will be digital only.
Will a Disc PS5 Be Worth More If Sony Stops Making Disc Games?
Probably not significantly, and possibly less over time — though not for the reason most people assume. The short-term reaction in the secondhand market may well push disc PS5 prices up modestly, driven by people who want to lock in a disc-capable console before the format disappears. But this is a sentiment spike, not a structural change in value. Once the PS6 arrives — analysts widely expect it won't launch before 2028, given Sony's own timeline — PS5 resale values across the board will drop, disc or digital. That's how console generations work.
What the announcement has done is widen the gap between disc and digital editions in buyers' minds. If you're someone who plays used games, lends discs to mates, or buys physical copies because they're consistently cheaper than digital, a disc PS5 has never been more clearly the right choice for squeezing value from the current generation. The disc library up to 2028 will be enormous — and secondhand game prices will be very competitive once physical retail starts clearing stock.
Should I Sell My Disc PS5 Before 2028?
If you're not using it regularly, now is a reasonable time to sell — not because the announcement has dramatically changed its value today, but because the clock on PS5 relevance has become more visible. Console resale values decline gradually and then quickly once a new generation lands. The more interesting question is whether this specific announcement creates a short window of heightened demand among buyers who want a disc-capable PS5 before the format becomes a closed ecosystem. It might. But you shouldn't hold out hoping for a collector's premium that may never materialise at scale.
The practical factors that determine what your disc PS5 fetches right now are the same as they've always been: model (original, Slim, or Pro with disc attachment), condition, whether you have the original accessories, and how you sell it. A disc PS5 Slim in good condition, with controller and cables, will comfortably out-earn a digital edition in the secondhand market. That gap may widen slightly in the coming months — but it won't be dramatic.
Is It Still Worth Buying a Disc PS5 in the UK?
Yes, for the right buyer — and probably more so than before Sony's announcement, not less. Here's why: the argument for buying a disc PS5 used to be about future access to new disc games. That argument is now gone, because new disc releases end in January 2028. But the argument that remains is arguably stronger: a disc PS5 gives you access to the entire existing library of physical PS5 and PS4 games at secondhand prices, which will likely get cheaper as physical retail winds down. If you're budget-conscious and happy playing games from the last few years rather than day-one releases, a refurbished disc PS5 bought today could be extremely good value.
The disc drive also matters for Blu-ray playback, and for families where sharing, lending, and gifting games is genuinely how they operate. Digital licences don't support any of that.
What This Means for the Secondhand Game Market
This is where the ERA's concerns are most concrete. The trade body pointed out that once new disc releases stop, the secondhand game market for those future titles simply won't exist. Retailers who currently buy and resell used games lose that channel entirely for anything releasing after January 2028. That's bad for budget buyers, bad for the high street, and bad for anyone who assumed they could sell games they'd finished. Physical disc games can be shared, traded in, and resold — digital licences generally cannot. Sony has previous form shutting down older storefronts, and a digital-only future offers players considerably less control over what they've paid for.
The good news for existing disc owners: your current physical library isn't going anywhere. Every disc you own will keep working. And the secondhand market for pre-2028 titles will likely remain active for years — potentially growing as collectors seek out the final wave of physical releases before the cutoff.
The Bottom Line for UK Sellers and Buyers
If you have a disc PS5 sitting unused, this is a sensible moment to get a quote. The announcement hasn't collapsed disc PS5 values — if anything, buyer appetite for disc-capable hardware has sharpened in the short term. But don't mistake a news cycle for a long-term price floor. The best time to sell a console is before the next generation makes it feel dated, and Sony's 2028 timeline has just made that transition more legible than it's ever been.
If you're looking to buy, a refurbished disc PS5 from a trusted source — graded, tested, and covered by warranty — gives you everything the format still offers at a fraction of new retail price. That proposition looks pretty solid for anyone who wants to build a physical game library before the disc era closes.
If you're ready to sell your disc PS5, get an instant quote from Tech4Cash — we collect from your door across the North East and Manchester and pay the same day. Or if you're in the market for a tested, warranted refurbished console, browse our current console stock and see what's available. Not sure how we check and grade devices? Here's how our grading process works.
