Sony confirmed it will stop supporting physical game discs for PlayStation games starting in January 2028, shifting fully to digital game purchases worldwide [1, 2, 3]. The announcement first came in July 2026 and sparked immediate backlash from the gaming community [3].
During Sony’s State of Play livestream on September 3, 2026, fan chat rooms on YouTube and Twitch were flooded with messages such as "NO DISC NO BUY" and "WE WANT DESTINY 3," reflecting widespread frustration over the disc phase-out and high demand for a new entry in the Destiny franchise [1, 2, 4, 3]. One YouTube viewer commented, "The live chat being left on was the most entertaining part of the stream. This State of Play could have been an email" [2].
Sony introduced a new harassment policy earlier this month to prohibit certain fan behaviors during State of Play streams, including prolonged unrelated demands and harassment in chats [2].
Meanwhile, Bungie ended major development on Destiny 2 earlier in 2026. The studio has shifted focus to its struggling game Marathon, which has faced staffing cuts and underperformance [1, 4, 3]. Despite strong fan demand, industry sources suggest that Destiny 3 is unlikely to be greenlit by Sony due to high costs and cautious risk assessment [1, 4].
Sony is also facing ongoing lawsuits arguing that digital game buyers do not truly own their purchases, adding to consumer frustration [1, 2]. Sony CFO Lin Tao said the decision to end physical discs was made cautiously and with community input. Tao stated, "We put in a lot of thought and time, and we cautiously considered this—and we came to this conclusion, and we're going to cautiously move this forward... We understand those emotions. We want to consider that. And in the future digital ecosystem, how do we engage the gamers is something that we would like to continue to explore" [3].
Sony’s new harassment policy started in early September 2026 and aims to moderate fan conduct in online discussions related to State of Play events [2]. The company’s next State of Play and further community communications will likely address ongoing fan concerns about the digital-only future and Destiny franchise plans.
