Sony might have been slowly undermining physical PlayStation games for quite some time.

      Sony’s shift at its Austria disc plant indicates that physical PlayStation games were likely on the decline already.

      Recently, Sony announced that it would cease the production of physical game discs for new PlayStation titles by January 2028, prompting immediate speculation. This announcement followed Rockstar's reported $3 billion revenue from preorders of GTA 6, which included both digital editions and physical copy codes. This led some fans and critics to question whether the impressive digital sales of GTA 6 had influenced Sony's significant decision.

      However, a new report from ORF Salzburg suggests a different narrative. It indicates that Sony’s disc manufacturing facility in Thalgau, Austria is currently being adapted for a future with considerably fewer discs, signaling that Sony may have been preparing for the PlayStation disc transition long before GTA 6 entered the spotlight.

      The Thalgau plant maintains a daily output of around 600,000 discs, with PlayStation accounting for about half of that production. Dietmar Tanzer, president of Sony Digital Audio Disc Corporation, informed ORF that PlayStation-related disc production is predicted to decline dramatically by 2028.

      Sony has no plans to shut down the plant; instead, it is retraining its 300 staff and redirecting the facility towards optical microlenses. The company is investing approximately 30 million euros in this new technology, which could have applications in areas like automotive lighting and projection systems. This shift indicates that the PlayStation disc cessation is a part of a broader transition that Sony has been preparing for over several years.

      For players, the move towards a digital future raises concerns. While physical games were not without their flaws—especially in an era filled with patches, downloads, and online verifications—they provided tangible assets that could be held, lent, resold, collected, or preserved. Digital purchases, however, are heavily reliant on licensing agreements and storefront decisions.

      Sony has demonstrated the fragility of digital ownership. Some customers who acquired movies through PlayStation were recently notified that hundreds of titles would be removed from their collections due to changes in licensing. Additionally, Sony plans to close the PS3 and PS Vita storefronts, halting new purchases on older consoles.

      The physical PlayStation era now has a defined end date. While the future may offer greater convenience, it also poses fewer assurances regarding long-term ownership.

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      As reported, Sony may be further entrenching itself in a digital-first approach by ending PS5 disc production in 2028, which depends on licensing, storefront policies, and long-term platform support—elements that companies rarely guarantee.

      This move is convenient for Sony but presents challenges for game preservation. While physical media presents its own issues as an archive, eliminating it before a suitable replacement arrives leaves the responsibility of preserving old games to others. This raises concerns regarding long-term ownership, resale rights, and the reliability of accessing purchases years down the line.

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      PlayStation Plus subscribers are set to receive a new lineup on July 7, headlined by the inclusion of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III alongside co-op fantasy RPG For the King II and retro-style action RPG CrossCode. All three titles will be available on PS5 and PS4 until August 3.

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      In other news, Cinder City initially posted recommended specs asking for a staggering 64GB of RAM, a figure that surprised many given that the rest of the specs seemed quite typical. Following this, the development team clarified that the 64GB recommendation was an error and has since updated the Steam page to reflect the requirement of 32GB of RAM instead. The current specifications are based on a build still in development, and the final system requirements at launch may be lower than those currently listed. So, there’s no immediate need for gamers to rush out and purchase additional RAM.