In the wake of Sony announcing that it will end support for physical PlayStation game discs in 2028, new data has come to light that speaks to the growing decline in physical PlayStation game sales in the US.

Mat Piscatella of Circana released new data recently that reveals that only two PlayStation games sold more than 10,000 physical units in the US for the week that ended on July 11, 2026. And only 7 have sold more than 100,000 physical units so far in 2026.

Piscatella also remarked that people should use their voice to comment on how much they might not like Sony's decision to kill physical discs. "But commenting is cheap," he wrote.

A former community manager for MyDearest, Imran Khan, replied to Piscatella, saying that people may be wasting their breath by speaking out to challenge Sony's decision to end support for discs.

"It doesn't filter up to decision-makers. Frankly, half your job is making sure it doesn't. There's no threshold of abuse or numbers where they have to send all of it in an Excel document to the CEO," Khan said.

Piscatella also re-shared data from May 2026 that showed spending on new physical games--across the entire industry--has been on a steady downward trajectory since 2009.

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Piscatella added: "The console manufacturers have all the data on sales and play that take place on their platforms globally in mind-boggling detail."

"Yes, physical currently matters far more in some places than it does in others, and digital isn't a great an option in some places. The console mfgs know all that."

The data has shown for years that physical game sales are declining at most major publishers, so Sony's switch to an all-digital world is not surprising.

It is unfortunate for those who want to see physical media continue, and hundreds of thousands of people signed a petition to encourage Sony to change its mind. This petition and other efforts will not work, experts have said, because making more money and tightening control of marketplaces are the main motivations here.

The biggest game of 2026, GTA 6, will launch as a digital-exclusive game. People can buy a copy of GTA 6 at physical retailers, but they only get a code in the box. Rockstar stands to make more money from GTA 6 and have greater control over it as a digital-exclusive game, so it's not hard to see why it opted for this, even if it will upset some people.

While Sony has announced plans to stop supporting physical game discs/cartridges, Microsoft and Nintendo have not made any announcements about their own plans.

Xbox Game Pass used to be hailed as the "best deal" in gaming, but it started to lose its luster following a steep subscription price increase several months back--that is still higher than what it used to be even after a decrease--and shifting membership tiers. Some of Xbox's leaders aren't too high on Game Pass either, especially after it proved to be a disruptive influence on Microsoft's biggest franchise, Call of Duty. According to Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, several people within Xbox see Game Pass as a "detriment" to the video game industry.

"There are a lot of people out there in studio leadership within Xbox who absolutely detest Game Pass. [They] think it has destroyed the value of their games, think it has taken away the value from all games in general and has been a detriment to the games industry in those people's view, because of how it devalues games," Schreier said on the Triple Click podcast.

That statement was backed up by a former Xbox studio lead, who added that Game Pass had devalued their work. "Giving games away for 'free' in Game Pass from day one sends a message to consumers that the games don't have inherent market value. It almost creates an assumption that these titles could not sell on their own," the source said to Windows Central. "It felt like a race to zero."

Another Xbox lead added that while Game Pass was designed to be a stable source of revenue for games in an era where live-service titles dominate, Microsoft's opaque engagement formula made it hard for studios to stay motivated. For a time, Game Pass was a lifeline for studios that would release titles that would often go under the radar of players, but things have changed recently for the subscription's business model.

Forza Horizon 5 creative director Mike Brown also gave his thoughts on Game Pass, saying that while it was a good idea, it failed to reach the lofty subscriber goals that it was aiming for.

The biggest shift is that Call of Duty is no longer a day-one launch through Game Pass, as the service took a bite out of direct sales. Schreier has speculated that Microsoft could make even more changes to the day-one model of Game Pass, especially at a time when Xbox is aiming to become a more profitable arm of the company. A new report also claimed that Game Pass has been an $80 billion gamble that hasn't panned out the way Microsoft envisioned, and Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has said that decisions by the previous Xbox leadership did not help to grow the service meaningfully.

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