While there are other issues to consider here – like the impact on people who don’t have a fast, stable internet connection and on businesses that specialize in physical games – removing discs completely is terrible for game preservation. The closure of the PS3 and Vita stores bears witness to this. The last time the company tried to shut down these digital storefronts, VGC looked at the data and determined that approximately 2,200 digital-only games would no longer be available for purchase. Of those, 138 were not available on other platforms, meaning they would essentially disappear.
These exact numbers may have changed over the past five years, but they illustrate the problem with game preservation. It’s not unimaginable that digital-only games of more recent generations would meet a similar fate. Having a game on disc means you can still play it. For example, Microsoft delisted Forza Horizon 4but you can buy a used 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 came to archiving new games:
Museums and archives have been preparing for this future for some time, hoping that putting discs on a shelf won’t be a long-term solution to preserving new games. What continues to baffle us is what the industry expects from institutions like ours on this issue.
If platform owners decide to eliminate physical media and legacy digital storefronts, we would also like to see professional groups like the Entertainment Software Association offer meaningful solutions to archives and museums to legally preserve digital-only content and make it searchable. Everyone recognizes that this is a serious problem, but the ESA has repeatedly opposed efforts by cultural heritage institutions to reform digital copy protection laws to make this work easier. The industry needs to intervene meaningfully on this issue because asking museums to upload a copy of Grand Theft Auto VI and hoping it will work in 50 years is not a preservation solution.
Meanwhile, Sony also said that after digital sales of PS3 and Vita games end – 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 this sentence is worrying. This implies that at some point the company will completely shut down the PS3 and Vita servers, preventing consumers from being able to download the games they have purchased.
This brings us to the digital rights management (DRM) side of the equation. It’s been a long time since you owned any digital games that you purchased for modern systems. You acquire a license to play a game and the platform holders have the right to revoke your access. A Sony spokesperson said Game file this week, “(with) all digital content, including games, movies and music, players purchase a personal license for non-commercial use.”
DRM allows platform holders and publishers to restrict what players can do with their purchases, and the transition to digital-only games will give them more power. For what it’s worth, PC storefronts like GOG and Itch sell DRM-free games and offer an alternative approach for bigger gamers.
We don’t apply any DRM to games and other content on @itch.io. Buy, download and never go online again for everything we care about ✌️
– itch.io (@itch.io) 2026-07-01T20:41:41.610Z
While this move may have been inevitable for Sony, the timing of the announcement seems questionable from a strategic standpoint, as it could give the impression that Xbox is comparatively the good guy on this particular front – even as Microsoft once again prepares to gut its gaming division.
Xbox has confirmed that its next console, currently dubbed Project Helix, will run PC games. The brand has long attempted to unify its experience across different 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 this option on Helix as well. Thus, the problem of game preservation is perhaps slightly less of a concern in this particular ecosystem. That said, Xbox may well follow Sony in ditching game discs altogether as well.
The approaches taken by PlayStation and Xbox to game access and DRM have evolved significantly over time. Initially, this seemed to have come to a head 13 years ago, when both sides were talking about the Xbox One and PS4. Microsoft initially planned to require Xbox One players to connect to the internet at least once per 24 hours to continue playing their games, even offline titles. It was also going to let publishers decide whether they would allow used games to be sold. The approach of lending Xbox One games to friends has also raised concerns.
Microsoft picked up on many of these ideas after Sony mocked Xbox by demonstrating how to lend PS4 games to friends: by physically handing them a boxed game.
But a lot has changed since 2013. Sony itself recently mandated DRM checking for digital game purchases, and we’re now 18 months away from completely ending discs for new games. What Sony said 13 years ago may no longer be relevant today, but that doesn’t change the fact that this decision is a slap in the face to game preservation efforts and everyone who actually wants to own their games.
