EU Commissioner: Bloc Can’t Stop Sony Ending Disc-Based Games
Brussels will not be riding in to save PlayStation discs. Michael McGrath, the European Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection, has confirmed the European Union has no legal mechanism to stop Sony from ending physical disc production for new PS5 games from January 2028, framing it squarely as a matter of corporate freedom rather than a consumer rights breach.
Speaking to reporters at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, McGrath was reportedly asked directly about Sony’s plan to stop making disc-based games. His answer was that the EU really has no power to stop them, saying “It does come down to commercial and contractual freedoms,” and “companies are free to offer games and services in the manner that they see fit, provided that consumer rights are fully protected in line with national and EU law.”
Sony’s July 1 Blog Post Set the January 2028 Cutoff
Sony laid out the plan itself on the PlayStation Blog on July 1, confirming that physical game disc production for all new games releasing on PlayStation consoles will be discontinued starting January 2028, after which new games will be available on PlayStation Store and at retailers in digital formats only. Crucially, Sony stressed that this transition has no impact on games that already released, or will be releasing, prior to January 2028 in disc format.
Sony framed the move as a response to shifting habits rather than a cost-cutting swing, stating on its blog that this is a natural direction for Sony Interactive Entertainment to adapt to consumer trends as the general preference for digital media significantly outpaces physical discs. Industry analyst Piers Harding-Rolls of Ampere Analysis told games-industry outlet Game File that “This pretty much guarantees that PS6 won’t arrive until 2028 at the earliest,” tying the disc cutoff directly to the timing of Sony’s next console.
Stop Killing Games Set the Precedent a Month Earlier
McGrath’s comments echo a decision the European Commission made just weeks before Sony’s announcement. In June 2026, the Commission rejected the Stop Killing Games European Citizens’ Initiative, which had gathered well over a million verified signatures demanding that publishers keep discontinued games playable. The Commission concluded it could not force publishers to preserve access to sunset titles, citing conflicts with existing intellectual property law.
Kotaku noted that instead of legislation, the Commission said it would work with the game industry and others to create a code of conduct for video game preservation, a voluntary measure rather than binding law. That same reasoning appears to be the template Brussels is now applying to Sony’s disc decision: no legal violation, no grounds to intervene.
Reprints of Older Disc Games Will Continue, Sony Confirms
Games-industry outlet Game File, which reviewed Sony’s blog post ahead of publication, reported that Sony is committing to still selling games in physical retailers even after they drop discs in 2028, though just how those games will be sold — in boxes with codes inside, or as cards marked with digital redemption codes — is unclear, while digital games will also continue to be sold in the online PlayStation Store. That leaves the door open for currently-announced disc titles, including upcoming PlayStation exclusives slated for 2027, to still ship on physical media before the cutoff arrives.
The backlash from PlayStation’s community has been loud but so far ineffective at shifting Sony’s plans. A Change.org petition opposing the move has drawn hundreds of thousands of signatures, and social media has seen threads of players cancelling PS Plus subscriptions in protest. Games industry analyst Dr. Serkan Toto has publicly argued Sony is unlikely to reverse course given the size of its digital-first customer base.
Digital Fairness Act Offers a Slim, Slow Lifeline
GamesRadar+ reported that the episode has been described as “A mild blow to Stop Killing Games” campaigners, who are now pinning hopes on the EU’s forthcoming Digital Fairness Act, a broader consumer-protection bill expected to be formally proposed later in 2026. Even optimistic timelines suggest any enforceable provisions on game preservation or digital ownership would not bite until well into the PS6 era, long after Sony’s disc production winds down.
For PlayStation owners in New Zealand and Australia, where retailers like JB Hi-Fi and EB Games have long relied on disc trade-ins and discounted physical stock, the shift mirrors a global pattern rather than a region-specific rule — Sony’s policy applies worldwide, and no EU-style regulatory challenge is on the table locally either. Games released on disc before January 2028, including any local day-one PS5 exclusives, will remain physical and tradeable under Sony’s own commitment, giving regional collectors a firm deadline to plan around.
Read also: EU Commissioner: Bloc Can’t Stop Sony Ending Disc-Based Games
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