PlayStation's 2028 Disc Phase-Out Threatens $7.2 Billion Resale Market

By Sakib Khandokar, Lead Analyst Published Jul 23, 2026, 9:32 PM UTC 2 min read

Rumor Report Official source checked High confidence

PlayStation's 2028 Disc Phase-Out Threatens $7.2 Billion Resale Market

PlayStation's upcoming shift away from physical media could cause the multi-billion dollar second-hand video games market to dramatically shrink, according to recent analyst reports shared in gaming news coverage.

Quick Facts

PlayStation plans to officially abandon physical discs for new games in 2028.
The global second-hand game platform market was valued at $7.2 billion in 2025 by market researcher Dataintelo.
Wedbush Securities managing director of strategic planning Michael Pachter notes that brick-and-mortar game retail is doomed by the shift.
Xbox is reportedly testing a feature that digitizes physical game collections ahead of its own potential transition away from discs.

Impact on Game Retail and Resale

A CNBC report citing data from market researcher Dataintelo describes the video games resale market as worth $7.2 billion in 2025. Experts had previously anticipated that the market would expand to $13.8 billion by 2034, but that projection faces disruption as console manufacturers move toward digital-only ecosystems.

Michael Pachter, managing director of strategic planning at Wedbush Securities, explained to CNBC that roughly one-third of sold games are used, and these resale transactions help fund new game purchases. Without physical discs from PlayStation, players will have fewer opportunities to purchase games overall.

Industry-Wide Shift to Digital Media

Morningstar equity research director Kazunori Ito stated that the secondhand games market will likely keep shrinking and eventually disappear once Sony finalizes its transition to digital-only formats. While PC gaming has already adopted this model entirely through platforms like Steam, Epic, and GOG, console manufacturers are following suit.

Although Xbox has not officially renounced physical discs yet, reports indicate it is testing a feature to digitize physical game collections. Ito noted a distinct difference between players willingly accepting a shift to digital because they see value in it versus having the alternative effectively removed by manufacturers.