It’s a rough time to be a PlayStation fan, and it seems the company’s leadership might be looking for the exit. Just two days after Sony announced it would officially stop supporting disc-based games after January 2028, CEO Hiroki Totoki sold 56% of his company shares.
According to SEC filings, the sale took place on July 3, 2026. Totoki offloaded 225,000 shares at $21.02 per piece, netting $4.7 million. He currently retains just over 170,000 shares. He isn't the only one moving assets, either; Sony’s chief strategy officer, Toshimoto Mitomo, sold 25,000 shares—roughly 18% of his total holdings—at that same valuation.
A Pattern of Underperformance
The move comes during what many consider the bleakest period for the PlayStation brand. The PS5 era has been marred by a series of high-profile missteps, including the recent layoffs at Bungie, the closure of various studios, and a consistent, uphill battle with public perception. Sony has faced intense criticism for its focus on live-service titles that have failed to resonate with the core audience, as well as notable price hikes for services like PlayStation Plus.
Despite the massive blowback regarding the end of physical media, the company’s stock price has remained relatively stable. As of the most recent data, the stock is trading at $21.20, actually seeing a slight increase of $0.18 over the price at which Totoki and Mitomo sold their positions.
Community Backlash and Corporate Silence
The decision to abandon physical discs has sparked a massive wave of public outcry. A Change.org petition titled “Don’t Kill the Disc,” which went live on July 1, has already surpassed 220,000 signatures. Fans are particularly concerned about the long-term implications for digital ownership and the preservation of their game libraries.
For now, the official channels at PlayStation remain largely detached from the frustration. Following the announcement, the official account went silent for nearly a week before resuming daily posts, focusing on peripheral hardware like the FlexStrike fight stick and upcoming software entries such as Mortal Shell II and Apex Legends. These posts have been met with immediate, overwhelming negativity in the replies, as users continue to voice their disapproval of the company’s trajectory.
Whether this signifies a lack of faith from the top brass or simply a routine financial maneuver remains the subject of intense debate among investors and gamers alike. However, for a company that built its reputation on consumer-friendly hardware and massive, single-player experiences, the current atmosphere suggests that the bridge between Sony and its dedicated player base is more fractured than ever.