From Buying to Licensing: How Digital Games Changed the Meaning of Ownership

Sony’s plan to stop producing discs for all new PlayStation games from January 2028 has turned a commercial shift into a debate over ownership.

The company presents the move as an adjustment to a market that increasingly favors downloads over physical games sold in stores. But many PlayStation users see a different issue. Petitions and protests have focused on what it means to buy a game when no physical copy remains for consumers to control, own, or resell.

The transition to digital gaming has been under way for years. In Sony’s most recent fiscal year, digital downloads represented 78% of complete games sold for the PS4 and PS5, compared with 76% in the previous fiscal year.

For Sony, those figures show that consumers themselves are driving the gradual end of disc manufacturing and distribution. For opponents of the policy, however, the disappearance of the disc raises questions about whether purchasing a game still means owning something tangible, rather than obtaining access under a license.