While there are other issues to consider here — like the impact on people who lack a fast, stable internet connection and companies that specialise in physical games — nixing discs entirely is terrible for game preservation. The closure of the PS3 and Vita stores is testament to that. The last time the company tried to shut those digital storefronts, VGC looked at the data and determined that around 2,200 digital-only games would no longer be available to purchase. Of those, 138 were not available on other platforms, meaning they’d essentially disappear.

Those exact figures may have shifted over the last five years, but they illustrate the game preservation problem. It’s not unfathomable that digital-only games from more recent generations will meet a similar fate. Having a game on a disc means you can still play it. For instance, Microsoft has delisted Forza Horizon 4, but you can buy a second-hand copy and play it on Xbox One or Xbox Series X.

Archiving digital-only games, even for research purposes, is a complex issue. While Video Game History Foundation director Frank Cifaldi described the death of PlayStation game discs as “unfortunate news,” he said in a statement that there were broader concerns when it comes to archiving new games:

Museums and archives have been preparing for this future for a while, with the expectation that putting discs on a shelf isn’t going to be a long-term solution for preserving new games. What continues to baffle us is what the industry expects institutions like ours to do about it.

If platform owners are deciding to eliminate physical media and older digital storefronts, then we’d also like to see trade groups like the Entertainment Software Association offer meaningful solutions for archives and museums to legally preserve digital-only content and make it accessible for research. Everyone agrees this is a serious problem, but the ESA has repeatedly opposed the efforts of cultural heritage institutions to reform digital copy protection laws to make it easier to do this work. The industry needs to meaningfully come to the table on this issue, because asking museums to download a copy of Grand Theft Auto VI and hope it’ll run in 50 years is not a preservation solution.

Meanwhile, Sony also said that after it ends digital sales of PS3 and Vita games — a phase out that will take place over the next year — “players will still be able to download previously purchased content after the closing date for the foreseeable future.” The last part of that sentence is ominous. It implies that, at some point, the company will turn off the PS3 and Vita servers entirely, preventing consumers from being able to download the games they’ve purchased

This brings us into the digital rights management (DRM) side of the equation. It’s long been the case that you don’t actually own any digital games you buy for modern systems. You acquire a license to play a game, and platform holders have the right to revoke your access. A Sony spokesperson told Game File this week that “[w]ith all digital content, including games, movies, and music, players are purchasing a personal license for non-commercial use.”

DRM enables platform holders and publishers to restrict what players can do with their purchases, and transitioning to digital-only games will place more power in their hands. For what it’s worth, PC storefronts like GOG and Itch sell DRM-free games and offer an alternative approach to the bigger players.

We don’t enforce any DRM for games and stuff on @itch.io. Buy, download, and never connect to the internet again for all we care ✌️

— itch.io (@itch.io) 2026-07-01T20:41:41.610Z

While this shift may have been inevitable for Sony, the timing of the announcement seems questionable from a strategic perspective since it might make Xbox comparatively seem like the good guys on this particular front — right as Microsoft is once again preparing to gut its gaming division.

Xbox has confirmed that its next console, currently dubbed Project Helix, will run PC games. The brand has long been attempting to unify its experience across various platforms and, with its handhelds allowing users to install third-party PC game launchers like Steam and GOG, it stands to reason that Xbox will enable that option on Helix as well. So, the game preservation issue is perhaps slightly less of a concern in that particular ecosystem. That said, Xbox may well follow Sony by ditching game discs entirely as well.

The approaches PlayStation and Xbox have taken to game access and DRM have shifted greatly over time. Those initially seemed to come to a head 13 years ago, when the two sides were talking up the Xbox One and PS4. Microsoft initially planned to require Xbox One players to connect to the internet at least once 24 hours to keep playing their games, even offline titles. It was also going to let publishers decide whether they’d permit the sale of used games. The approach to lending Xbox One games to friends raised concerns too.

Microsoft walked many of those ideas back after Sony infamously mocked Xbox with a demonstration of how to lend PS4 games to friends: by physically handing over a boxed game.

But a lot has changed since 2013. Sony itself recently mandated a DRM check for digital game purchases, and we’re now 18 months away from the company completely scrapping discs for new games. What Sony said 13 years ago might not be relevant now, but that doesn’t change the fact that this move is a slap in the face to game preservation efforts and anyone who wants to actually own their games.