UK Retail Group Slams PlayStation’s No-Disc Push as a Step Back for Buyers
One of the UK’s biggest retail industry groups has taken aim at PlayStation after the platform holder signaled it will step back from physical discs. The Digital Entertainment and Retail Association (ERA), which represents major UK game sellers such as Game and Amazon, argues the move is a backward step for customers who still prefer buying boxed releases.
In its public response, ERA stressed that disc media continues to matter in the UK market. “The total disc-based games market was valued at over £300 million in 2025,” said ERA chief executive Kim Bayley. Bayley added that, based on ERA’s own figures, roughly one quarter of UK gamers who are under 25 still use physical discs to play games.
A detailed look at PlayStation 5 physical releases also highlights which disc titles can be launched without any sort of internet access or additional downloads.
Removing Discs Doesn’t Represent Progress, Says ERA CEO
In a statement dated July 2—published one day after Sony announced it plans to stop making PlayStation discs in 2028—Bayley argued that the change removes more than it improves. “Consumers deserve the freedom to choose how they buy their entertainment. Removing discs doesn’t represent progress. It simply removes choice. That’s bad for gamers, bad for retailers and ultimately bad for the long-term health and preservation of our games industry,” Bayley said. He also pointed out that physical discs can be “shared with family, traded in, collected, preserved and, crucially, still played years from now,” while digital purchases don’t provide the same set of options.
Identify the cover art while scratching off as little foil as possible.
ERA’s comments were soon picked up by Christopher Dring, who discussed Bayley’s position during the July 13 episode of his The Game Business podcast. Dring didn’t only repeat Bayley’s argument—he also highlighted additional figures that suggest how much of the boxed console market is tied to PlayStation and how that could be impacted by any future no-disc approach. Dring said, “45% of all physical console games sold in the UK last year were PlayStation 5 or PlayStation 4 titles.” He also stated that “Physical games generated $1.6 billion in the US for the 12 months ending May 2026.”
ERA maintains that interest in disc releases hasn’t fully vanished. “Retailers see this demand every day,” Bayley said. Another point commonly raised by players is that physical copies are frequently cheaper than digital versions, which could make it harder for price-sensitive gamers if the market shifts to an all-digital default. ERA framed the broader debate by saying, “Digital distribution has transformed gaming and is hugely popular, but it should complement physical formats, not replace them.”
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Dring also echoed ERA’s perspective, claiming that one of PlayStation’s “iconic marketing slogans is ‘For the Players,’ but with this decision, it is more ‘For the Profit Margin.’” Even so, he suggested it’s hard to be overly harsh on the Japanese company. With the wider industry dealing with pressure from problems such as ongoing RAM shortages, Dring argued that businesses including Sony, Xbox, and Nintendo have had fewer avenues to cut spending while still keeping games affordable as a form of entertainment.
He added, “Sony will feel, rightly, that players will just buy digital. And that they will accept it, however begrudgingly. But the company will surely want to consider ways to strengthen its digital proportions, and find ways to offset some of the things that players are losing by abandoning the disc.”
