PS5 Owners Cancel PlayStation Plus to Protest Sony’s End of Game Discs

PS5 players are cancelling their PlayStation Plus memberships as a form of protest after Sony chose to end physical-disc releases for new PS5 games, a move that analysts say is unlikely to make the company reverse course. While the backlash is getting louder online, the numbers involved are not expected to be big enough to force a strategic change.

Sony’s plan to move to an all-digital model for new PS5 titles starting January 2028 has sparked widespread criticism from PlayStation fans who want physical media to remain an option. Many users also point out that the same direction is expected to carry over to the PS6 generation. A prominent petition urging Sony to rethink its stance has now climbed past 200,000 signatures, and in recent days PS5 owners have been posting screenshots showing cancelled PS Plus renewals across social platforms.

Quick facts

• PS5 users are cancelling PlayStation Plus subscriptions in protest.
• Sony’s decision targets new PS5 games released from January 2028 onward as all-digital.
• A petition asking Sony to reverse the plan has surpassed 200,000 signatures.
• Analysts argue the cancellations won’t pressure Sony enough to change its mind.
• One analyst expects digital to remain dominant, citing profitability and economics.

Speaking with a gaming outlet, Dr. Serkan Toto, CEO of Japanese industry consultancy Kantan Games, said even a large protest wave would still be relatively small in the grand scheme. In his view, Sony is prepared for the controversy and expects the backlash to fade rather than force a reversal.

Why cancellations may not matter

Toto said he understands the appeal of physical copies, but that Sony “will not reverse this decision.” He also argued Sony likely anticipated the online reaction, implying the company is treating the situation as a temporary storm instead of a turning point.

He pointed to Sony’s scale, noting it has more than 120 million active PlayStation users and roughly 50 million subscribers to PlayStation Plus. As a thought experiment, Toto suggested that if 500,000 people cancelled in protest, that loss would amount to about 1% of the subscription base—far too little to trigger a rethink. His conclusion: digital distribution is simply too profitable.

Digital downloads already dominate how games are sold, so Sony can also be framed as following the market’s direction. Still, Toto emphasized that there’s a clear financial upside beyond “customer preference,” including reduced manufacturing and distribution expenses, removing the need to share revenue with retailers, and collecting more platform fees for third-party releases through the PlayStation Store.

To show why a small share of cancelled subscriptions may not hit Sony’s bottom line, the economics break down differently for physical versus digital sales. For a first-party PlayStation release such as The Last of Us, Sony keeps roughly 65% of the price on a physical copy, with about 30% going to the retailer and around 5% covering manufacturing costs.

For physical third-party games—using Activision-published Call of Duty as the example—Sony’s cut is described as a licensing fee, likely around 15%. That’s a narrower take compared with Sony’s own first-party arrangements, even before considering distribution and retail splits.

Digital sales, however, can produce much higher margins. For a first-party title sold through Sony’s own PlayStation Store, Sony retains 100% of the revenue stream. For third-party games like Call of Duty, Sony takes about a 30% cut, which Toto’s breakdown translates to roughly $21 from a $70 purchase.

Do you support an all-digital gaming future?

Daniel Ahmad, Director of Research & Insights at Niko Partners, suggested on X/Twitter that Sony may respond in some way due to the backlash. He also said he would be surprised if the company fully reverses the decision at this stage, especially given how long the industry has been moving toward digital-first habits.

“Their current profit margin has been too weak for years now, so they feel like they must act,” Toto added in his remarks. From his perspective, the economic logic for digital is straightforward—especially for platform holders that benefit from storefront fees and direct control of sales.

Image credit: CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images.

Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social