Physical media numbered? Ubisoft CEO downplays the end of discs on PlayStation
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The end of physical media on PlayStation won't shake the gaming industry, says Ubisoft's CEO after Sony's drastic decision.
Sony's radical decision to end physical disc production for the PlayStation starting in January 2028 will not have a major impact on the video game industry. The claim comes from Yves Guillemot, CEO of Ubisoft, who defended the digital transition during the company's financial results conference for the first quarter of fiscal year 2027. The executive downplayed the fears of analysts and collectors, arguing that the shift will bring benefits for hardware pricing and market expansion.
The CEO's statement came in direct response to analyst Frédérick Duguet of brokerage TD Cowen. Duguet warned about the end of the used games market, a global ecosystem valued at around US$ 7 billion that lets players resell old titles to help pay for new releases. In the analyst's view, losing that option creates a financial barrier for consumers and could dampen demand for new titles.
Guillemot countered the argument by citing the evolution of computers in recent years. The executive recalled that the full migration to digital stores on the PC did not shrink the industry, but made the sector grow dramatically after platforms like Steam gained strength. He also noted that digital-only consoles reduce manufacturing costs by eliminating the disc drive, which will help contain the rise in hardware prices driven by more expensive components such as memory.
The gaming community's reaction to the remarks was immediate and harsh on social media. Gamers point to a crucial flaw in Guillemot's comparison: the PC market features direct competition among several stores, such as Steam, Epic Games Store, and GOG, which compete for customers with promotions and aggressive pricing. On Sony's consoles, by contrast, digital distribution operates as a monopoly, relying exclusively on the PlayStation Store to set prices.
Critics and users also pointed to a conflict of interest in the stance of major publishers. Selling in digital format delivers a much larger share of revenue directly to game publishers, eliminating intermediaries, logistics costs, disc pressing, and physical retailers' profit margins.
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