Sony has clarified that its last remaining disc production facility will cut output by 10 percent in 2028, not the 90 percent reduction previously reported. The correction follows earlier reports that the Thalgau plant was already being repurposed, raising concerns about the timeline for the company’s planned end to new PlayStation game discs in January 2028. The clarification comes from an unnamed spokesperson for Sony’s discmaking division, Sony DADC, who spoke to journalist Brian Crecente. The spokesperson said a statement from division president Dietmar had been misinterpreted, describing it as an anticipated overall product volume decline of 10 percent rather than a drop down to 10 percent of current levels.
Sony DADC did not respond to The Verge’s request to fact-check the details, including whether the plant is still restructuring all 300 of its employees to focus on microlens production instead of discs, as Austria’s ORF reported in July. The division also declined to provide further details to Crecente. One possible reason for a slower transition is that Sony will continue allowing publishers to place re-orders for existing PlayStation disc games even after the January 2028 cutoff for new releases on physical media. That ongoing demand for older titles could keep the plant operating at higher volume for a longer period.
The revised figure does not change Sony’s stated commitment to ending new disc-based game production in early 2028, but it does suggest the physical media phase-out will be more gradual than initially understood. For US consumers who still buy PlayStation games on disc, the news means that supply of existing titles may remain more robust through the transition. However, the broader trend in the industry points away from disc-based ownership. Several major game publishers have not joined Microsoft’s disc-to-digital trade-in program, leaving fewer options for gamers looking to convert their physical libraries.
Sony has also faced criticism over its stance on digital ownership. In a recent legal argument, the company claimed that “reasonable consumers” could not believe they own a game after purchasing it, because multiple copies of the same game can exist simultaneously. That statement has fueled concerns among gamers about the durability of their digital purchases and the company’s respect for ownership rights. While the disc plant news offers a temporary reprieve for physical media, the legal and business moves from Sony and other publishers continue to push the industry toward a fully digital future.
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