Kojima warns about ownership as PlayStation drops discs

Hideo Kojima has joined the backlash against Sony’s plan to stop producing physical discs for new PlayStation games from January 2028. The Metal Gear and Death Stranding creator was saddened by the decision, but his bigger concern is what happens when games and films move further toward cloud access.

Sony confirmed last week that new PlayStation releases after the cutoff will be sold through the PlayStation Store and digital retailers only. Games released before January 2028, or already scheduled for disc release before then, will not be affected.

Kojima spoke about the move during an appearance at the Il Cinema in Piazza film festival in Italy. He grew up with physical media and still buys Blu-rays, CDs and other items, which made the PlayStation decision sad for him.

His concern went beyond collecting. Digital games are different from streamed films because downloaded game data can still sit on a player’s console. His warning was aimed at a future where games are no longer downloaded at all.

Kojima compared cloud access to streaming services, where the user does not hold the data. The player or viewer gets access through a server, and that access can change if a company, region or service changes policy.

That concern is familiar to players who already worry about delistings, licensing problems and closed storefronts. A disc cannot fix every modern issue, especially with patches and online checks, but it still gives players a physical copy that is not locked to one storefront.

Sony’s plan starts in January 2028 for all new PlayStation games. The change follows player buying habits and the wider entertainment industry’s move away from discs.

Digital downloads made up about 80 percent of Sony’s full-game software sales in fiscal 2025. That number explains the business logic, but it also shows why players who still prefer discs now feel pushed out.

Former PlayStation executive Shawn Layden also reacted to the change, calling it a dramatic decision. The industry has moved quickly from a time when digital sales did not exist to a market where digital is now the main way many players buy games.

Layden also pointed to access issues. A digital-only future can be harder for players with poor broadband, limited storage, military deployment needs or a preference for used games, trade-ins and lending copies to friends.

Sony has not said existing disc games will stop working. The change also does not affect games released, or already planned for disc release, before January 2028. Players now have a clear date to watch. New PlayStation games after January 2028 will be digital-only, while current physical libraries and already planned disc releases are not affected by the new rule.