Sony's Disc Phase-Out Was Inevitable: Physical Sales Down 87% Since 2009
New data from analytics firm Circana reveals a dramatic decline in physical game sales in the US, which for years foreshadowed Sony's decision to stop selling discs in 2028.
New data from analytics firm Circana reveals a dramatic decline in physical game sales in the US, which for years foreshadowed Sony's decision to stop selling discs in 2028.
Sony's announcement that it will completely cease sales of physical discs for PlayStation in 2028 sparked strong reactions from some players. However, analysis of data released this week by Mat Piscatella of Circana shows that this decision was practically inevitable. Sales figures for physical games in the United States reveal a long-term and continuous decline, reaching a point where disc production has become economically unsustainable.
According to data shared by Piscatella on social media, sales of physical copies of games in the US peaked in the 12 months ending June 2009, with 297 million physical units sold. Since then, the numbers have been in near-constant decline, with only 37 million physical games sold in the last 12 months. That represents a decrease of approximately 87 percent.
The analyst also included a chart that clearly shows the trend: after 2009, the sales curve falls inexorably, with the decline accelerating over the past decade due to the increasing dominance of digital distribution. For Sony, which marked 2028 as the end point for physical media, such data means the decision is based on harsh economic reality, not on a whim.
Another striking piece of data concerns sales of individual titles. Piscatella noted that so far in 2026, only seven PlayStation games have sold more than 100,000 physical copies in the US. By comparison, in 2008, as many as 100 titles crossed that threshold. Even the best-selling physical PlayStation game in 2026 reached just 275,000 units sold, which a decade and a half ago was an average figure for moderately popular titles.
This collapse in the number of successful physical releases directly impacts production logistics. Each disc-based game incurs costs for printing, packaging, transportation, and storage, and when even the most popular titles barely exceed a few hundred thousand copies, economies of scale no longer work. Sony's withdrawal from this segment, announced for 2028, is practically the only rational business move.
For the end user, the announcement means that all future PlayStation games will be available exclusively through digital channels. Although existing devices with optical drives (such as the PlayStation 5 with a disc drive) will still be able to play previously purchased physical games, there will be no new releases on Blu-ray. In practice, this means full dependence on the PlayStation Store and digital rights, but also potentially faster content delivery, a lower environmental impact, and the ability to share games within digital family settings.
Sony is not alone in this trend; competitors have long been rushing toward a digital future. Microsoft actively promotes a subscription model with Xbox Game Pass, while the PC market has operated almost exclusively through platforms like Steam for years. Circana's data is merely numerical confirmation of what the industry has long felt: the physical disc is slowly but surely becoming a thing of the past.
