New PS5 Boxes Are Already Warning About PlayStation’s Discless Future

Published Aug 6, 2026, 3:25 AM EDT Sam Woods is TheGamer’s Senior Reporter. He’s been in games journalism since 2020 and has undertaken a variety of roles in that time. These have included roles such as SEO Editor, Managing Editor at DualShockers, and Global Head of Gaming, and he's also been seen on the BBC. He was promoted to the Senior Reporter position in 2025 following a series of high-quality reports and exclusives for TheGamer. Since 2020, Sam has written over 2,500 articles and specializes in telling the stories of the people behind the games. He’s interviewed the biggest game directors, some of the industry’s top talents, told the stories of how indie games came to be, and spoken to players about what really makes them tick. He’s also interviewed some of the world’s biggest musical artists to find out how the medium has inspired their work, and TV and Film actors about their roles in video game adaptations. He even hosted a PAX panel in 2021 and made a documentary in 2024 surrounding the creation of a Disney game. Alongside this, Sam focuses on breaking news. He got the scoop on Perfect Dark’s cancellation, got context around some AI drama, and revealed how Lady Dimitrescu’s actress would love to step back into the character’s giant shoes. These articles have been picked up by the biggest gaming sites, including IGN, GameSpot, and PC Gamer. He also loves to dive into the numbers behind the games. Sam’s journey in games journalism has taken him all over the world. He’s covered Gamescom in Germany, Summer Game Fest in Los Angeles, and Tokyo Game Show in Japan, each on more than one occasion. He’s been learning Japanese since 2024 with the intention of identifying and translating Japanese-language news and bringing it to English-language audiences first, something he’s done countless times. Sam’s first review was 2020’s Battletoads reboot, and he’s since reviewed games in The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario, and Pokemon franchises. It's been clear for a while now that Sony and PlayStation have no plans to reverse course on their disastrous decision. It announced that, from 2028, and likely with the launch of the PlayStation 6, it would no longer be producing games on physical discs. This, naturally, led to widespread backlash. Former PlayStation executives and big-time video game developers are among those who have opposed the move, with PlayStation fans also expressing deep unhappiness. They've shown their distaste for the decision by holding boycotts, starting petitions, and planning class-action lawsuits. Even some world governments are proposing new bills to protect consumers, and the infamous hacking group Anonymous had its say on the matter. Sony knew the backlash would be severe, so much so that it imposed the "strictest" social media guidelines for employees, but what followed doesn't seem to have changed the company's mind. A new image has been shared online that seems to show a warning that future PlayStation games will only be available in digital format from 2028. PlayStation's Switch To Digital All But Confirmed With A New PS5 Box This new PlayStation 5 box was shared on Twitter by mrpyo. It is reportedly beginning to arrive in stores, and it comes with the following "Important Notice" on the side of the box: "From Jan. 2028, newly released games on PlayStation will be available for purchase on PlayStation Store and at retailers in digital format only. Discs for games released before Jan. 2028 can continue to be played on this console." This simple change to PlayStation boxes is a stark warning, and one that underlines its commitment to moving to an all-digital future, no matter how bad the backlash is. It took the company over a month to respond publicly to the outcry, saying, “There are various reasons we made this decision, the biggest being that the digitalization of content overall has been progressing; that’s the big factor. It’s not just for PlayStation, but for all kinds of content, digitalization is progressing. And so, when we think about the future—and we put in a lot of thought and time, and we cautiously considered this—and we came to this conclusion, and we’re going to cautiously move this forward.” Despite Sony's stubbornness, though, complaints and protests continue, and there is a high likelihood they will do so for the foreseeable future. Brand Sony Original Release Date November 12, 2020 Original MSRP (USD) $499, €499, £449, ¥49,980 (Base) // $399, €399, £359, ¥39,980 (Digital), Operating System Orbis OS Processor Custom 8-core AMD Zen 2 Resolution 720p - 8K