PlayStation may be ruining the world of physical game releases come January 2028, but it is at least going to continue printing titles that have been released before that cut-off date.

As you no doubt know by now, PlayStation decided to join Xbox in having one of the worst weeks in its history by making what has to be the company's most controversial choice yet. From January 2028, PlayStation is ceasing game disc production and going all-digital with its releases, marking the end of physical releases as we know them.

Beyond being an awful hit to ownership, preservation, and the joy of experiencing a boxed release, there have been some concerns about what this means for the remaining physical game market. Some feared that scalpers were about to have a field day and that disc releases would become rare well before 2028, but thankfully, that isn't going to be the case.

PlayStation Will Keep Reprinting Games Released Before 2028

At Least They've Done One Single Thing Right

As pointed out by Insider Gaming and originally reported by Game File, Sony sent a unique message to publishers following the announcement that it was ceasing disc production. In the message, Sony confirmed that publishers will "still be able to place re-orders for existing PlayStation disc games", which means any title released before the start of 2028.

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This means that publishers will still be able to print as many discs as they need for any of their games that have launched before PlayStation goes all-digital. It's a very small comfort in the grand scheme of things, but it does at least mean that scalpers aren't suddenly going to pounce on any and all PlayStation games released in the next year and a bit.

Sorry if you thought that the situation would make your collection of PS4 and PS5 games any more valuable, as it seems like scarcity isn't going to be an issue.

PlayStation did confirm that the "ordering process" for discs is going to change, but didn't give any specific details. Judging by the message, though, it seems like the reprints are going to be on demand, and the ordering process change suggests they might be a bit more specialist than before.

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As for what happens to games released after the deadline, Sony confirmed that publishers can still release at retail using digital codes, aka the accursed code-in-a-box approach that GTA 6 is headlining. I guess if you're a physical collector like me, you might just end up having a bunch of empty boxes to try and fill the void that discs have left behind. Or, you know, you could boycott such an anti-consumer move.

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PlayStation 5

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