Much has been made of Sony’s announcement that they will pull out of physical game releases for PlayStation in January 2028. Gamers have called for a blackout, but even then, Sony has said they are cautiously moving forward with their plans. Now, for the first time, a rumor has emerged claiming that Sony could be reconsidering its digital-only plans, at least its timing. The reason? All due to competition, more specifically, Microsoft’s supposed Xbox strategy. Sony is said to be delaying discless plans because of competitors. In a recent Eurogamer Spain podcast, they mention some key things they’ve heard about PlayStation and Xbox at the Gamescom show. Please note that these are unverified rumors and as such should be treated with caution. Our translation mentions “that there is a growing feeling that the December 31, 2028 deadline could be pushed back a year or two.” Because? All thanks to Xbox and Project Helix, and how Sony fears that Xbox could take advantage of its disc-less fans to gain support from gamers and even game creators. That rumor is taking shape because different publishers are bringing it up, and above all because it seems, and here comes another rumor that has been circulating… that PlayStation has realized that it is leaving an opening for other players in the market to change their strategy. And that these players could take advantage of this situation of demand or complaint about physical formats to change their philosophy in the future. Among them is Microsoft. Word around here is that Microsoft is talking internally to all publishers, stating that its next console will be “100% physical,” with the ability to convert your physical games into digital ones. Microsoft is said to be telling developers that Project Helix, its next console, will be completely physical. With Microsoft’s recent announcement about its disk-to-digital conversion initiative starting later this month, I wouldn’t be surprised if this rumor is real. This is the second rumor that Sony is receiving some sort of pushback from game makers regarding its discless plans. A report we published today noted tension on the Gamescom show floor, which affected marketing and third-party support. The rumor doesn’t end there. He also mentions how a “major” game maker also approached Sony about their “massive title”, and how if Sony can’t promise a physical release, this major game maker (which was said to be not Rockstar) will skip the launch on PlayStation and only release the title on Microsoft and Nintendo platforms. Aside from the fact that it wouldn’t make sense for this mysterious company to be Rockstar due to existing marketing deals and logistics, it’s really interesting to see rumors of strategy changes going against PlayStation. Only time will tell if Sony finally gets down on its knees and moves in a direction where we might see some bigger titles getting physical copies after all. Stay connected with MP1st and the latest news by following us on Bluesky, X, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and Google News.
