Ken Kutaragi backs Sony killing discs: what it means for your games

Ken Kutaragi told Video Games Chronicle at the Game Republic New Horizons event that he gets why people are upset. Discs, he said, have become “a metaphor for ‘owning’ games.” But he argued that nobody demands a disc for a connected device like a smartphone, because people trust they will keep their content.

His bottom line was blunt. He said he doesn’t think continuing to make discs is “economically reasonable” for Sony, and that the backlash may be a mindset problem rather than a practical one.

He went further on where consoles are heading. Kutaragi said hardware has become “super expensive,” calling it an unhealthy situation, and suggested that with AI and cloud computing, “we won’t need any console.” He quickly added that this was not an official Sony comment.

Kutaragi was the architect of the first three PlayStation consoles and ran Sony’s game business through those generations. He retired in June 2007, shortly after the PlayStation 3 reached Europe, so he hasn’t worked at Sony for nearly two decades. Today he runs Ascent Robotics and owns Cyber AI Entertainment.

He was careful to say he isn’t PlayStation’s boss anymore, while noting he still shares some views with the company. That makes his opinion influential but not official. It is one veteran’s view, not a hint about new Sony policy.

Sony announced the change in July on the PlayStation Blog. Sid Shuman, a senior director at Sony Interactive Entertainment, wrote that disc production for all new games on PlayStation consoles will be discontinued starting January 2028, with new titles sold only as digital downloads through the PlayStation Store and retailers.

Here’s what that means in practice:

• Games already out on disc are safe. Sony says the change has no effect on games released, or due to release, on disc before January 2028.
• New games after that date are digital only. Retailers can still sell them, but as download codes rather than discs.
• Disc drives still matter for now. On October 13, Sony announced a Japan-only Midnight Black PS5 Digital Edition and repeated its 2028 notice. A matching disc drive arrives on November 19 for owners who want to play physical games.

The industry was already moving this way. Rockstar Games has said Grand Theft Auto 6 won’t launch with a disc version, offering a digital copy or a code in a box instead.

Kutaragi frames the fight as emotional. Many players see it as a question of rights. In August, while fighting a proposed class action in California, Sony argued it is not plausible that reasonable buyers think they gain ownership of a digital game. In plain terms, a digital purchase is a license, a permission to play that the company controls.

That is why the disc matters to people. A disc can be resold, lent to a friend or played years later without a server. A digital copy depends on your account staying active and the store keeping the game available.

Not every former Sony leader agrees with Kutaragi. Shawn Layden, who ran Sony Interactive Entertainment America from 2014 to 2018, called the move a “heavily spreadsheeted decision” and said Sony had taken a brand hit. He estimated that perhaps 20% of players still buy discs, but described them as the most loyal customers. A petition called Don’t Kill the Disc has gathered more than 385,000 signatures.

Lawmakers have noticed too. In the US, Representative Richie Torres has proposed the Power to the Players Act, which would ask the Federal Trade Commission to write rules protecting people’s ability to own and play the games they buy.

Nothing changes on your shelf today. Your current discs keep working, and Sony says older disc games will stay available. The real change is for games that come out from 2028 onward. If owning physical copies matters to you, here’s how to prepare:

1. Buy the disc versions you care about before 2028. Anything released on disc before the cutoff stays a physical product you can keep or resell.
2. Hold on to a console that can read discs. If you own a digital-only PS5, the separate disc drive is the way to keep playing your physical library.
3. Protect your PlayStation account. As more of your library becomes digital, your account is your collection. Turn on two-step verification and keep your sign-in email up to date.
4. Keep games downloaded where storage allows. A game installed on your console is easier to play if the store listing ever changes.