A widely circulated figure suggesting production at a major Sony disc-manufacturing facility would collapse to 10% of its current volume in 2028 was based on a misunderstanding, according to a clarification from Sony DADC. The company told journalist Brian Crecente that the Thalgau, Austria facility is expected to see an overall product-volume decline of 10% in 2028, rather than production falling by 90%. The correction does not reverse Sony Interactive Entertainment’s separate decision to stop manufacturing discs for newly released PlayStation games from January 2028.
The disputed figure originated from a July report concerning Sony DADC’s Thalgau operation. Sony DADC president Dietmar Tanzer had discussed the effect of PlayStation’s move away from new physical game releases, and subsequent reports interpreted his comments as meaning the facility’s volume would fall to roughly one-tenth of its current level. Sony DADC has now said that interpretation was incorrect.
According to the clarification provided to Crecente, Tanzer was referring to an overall product-volume reduction of approximately 10% during 2028. That is a considerably smaller change than a fall to 10% of existing production, which would represent a 90% decline. Sony DADC did not provide equivalent forecasts for the years beyond 2028, leaving the plant’s longer-term production trajectory unclear.
The correction is important because the Thalgau numbers had been used as evidence of an extremely rapid collapse in Sony’s physical-media manufacturing operation. The facility does not exclusively produce newly released PlayStation games, and the 10% figure concerns its overall product volume rather than simply the number of new PlayStation game discs being pressed. As a result, it should not be treated as a direct measure of how much physical PlayStation software will remain in circulation after Sony’s policy change takes effect.
Sony’s previously announced policy itself has not changed. On July 1, the company confirmed that physical game-disc production for all new games launching on PlayStation consoles will end beginning in January 2028. Games released before that cutoff are unaffected by the rule, and Sony DADC has now confirmed that reorders of qualifying older physical releases can continue reaching the market after January 2028.
That distinction means PlayStation discs will not simply disappear from production overnight when the deadline arrives. Existing games that launched physically before January 2028 can continue receiving additional manufacturing runs, while new games released after the cutoff will be distributed digitally. This also adds context to concerns surrounding future releases such as The Witcher 4 potentially launching on PS5 without a game disc, which relate specifically to Sony’s new-release policy rather than an immediate shutdown of all disc manufacturing.
Sony has already explained that retailers will remain part of its distribution model, with future physical packages able to contain download codes instead of discs. During its first-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings Q&A, the company said it would communicate with retail partners early and adapt its approach according to individual regional markets. Sony also argued that physical discs are not the defining distinction between PlayStation consoles and gaming PCs.
The move has nevertheless intensified debate around ownership and game preservation. Physical copies can generally be resold, lent or retained independently of a user’s platform account, while digitally purchased PlayStation software is provided under a license. That distinction has become more prominent alongside Sony’s legal argument that PlayStation digital purchases provide licenses rather than ownership.
Former Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios chairman Shawn Layden also told Crecente that the loss of physical PlayStation games was “depressing” but potentially solvable. He pointed to Sony’s control over its proprietary disc-manufacturing process as an obstacle to third-party companies producing PlayStation discs independently. Microsoft, by comparison, allows approved external manufacturers to replicate Xbox discs under its authorized-replicator system.
For now, the correction changes the scale of the reported manufacturing decline rather than Sony’s broader strategy. The Thalgau facility is not expected to lose 90% of its overall production volume in 2028; Sony DADC says the expected decline is 10%. New PlayStation games are still scheduled to become digital-only from January 2028, while physical titles released before the cutoff may continue receiving additional disc runs afterward.
