There has been an abundance of speculation and rumors surrounding the PlayStation’s use of a disc drive, or, perhaps more aptly, lack thereof. Many are under the assumption that, as a direct result of the slow death of physical media, Sony will choose to make the PlayStation 6 discless. That is a distinct possibility, especially following the release of the digital-only PlayStation 5 in 2020. However, should it go down that route, Sony will face an inevitable problem, one that I believe could impact PS6 sales and make it a far less promising prospect.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Crucially, while we don’t know for sure whether the PlayStation 6 will be rendered discless by choice, should it be, Sony will inevitably upset a significant portion of its userbase. At this point, especially thanks to the impressive backwards compatibility of the PlayStation 5, people aren’t just transferring their PS5 libraries over, but their PlayStation 4 ones too. Should the PS6 lack a disc drive, then there’s a very good chance a lot of those libraries will be made completely redundant, and that puts PlayStation players in a particularly precarious position, one in which they have to make a difficult choice that may result in the PS6 grossly underselling.
The PlayStation 6 Has Two Generations Of Physical Media To Cater To
The PlayStation 6 will almost certainly be backwards compatible with both PS4 and PS5. The digital architecture has already been established to allow users to carry over their vast libraries from one console to another, something that enabled Sony to win the console wars practically single-handedly. Digital adoption has ostensibly meant that PlayStation libraries are akin to those on PC platforms like Steam. Forcing players to give them up while charging them hundreds of dollars, if not close to a thousand, would be ludicrous and almost certainly see the next-gen console flop.
However, when it comes to physical media, it becomes a little more complicated. According to Sony’s 2025 Corporate Report, physical game sales only accounted 3% of all PlayStation revenue, compared to a staggering 20% from digital game sales. Similarly, in 2024, Sony reported that for the financial year 2023, digital games accounted for 70% of total sales. It is no secret that physical media is becoming less and less of a priority for the majority of major studios, with the release of both the Xbox Series S and PS5 Digital models evidence of a growing shift toward digital-only adoption. According to the market research company, Circana, 49% of PS5s sold in the US in 2025 were digital-only and lacked a disc drive.
One would assume then that it would be understandable for Sony to push for a discless PS6, especially if its core consumer is gradually moving more and more into the digital space. However, one must first take into consideration that, according to Circana, in 2024, digital PS5 consoles only accounted for 18% of total hardware sales, implying that a significant portion of PlayStation owners have the disc version. Furthermore, a disc drive is available as an additional purchase for the digital-only consoles. While sales data isn’t available for it specifically, in 2024, it sold out across all digital storefronts in the US after the release of the discless PS5 Pro. It isn’t unreasonable to assume that many bought the significantly cheaper and often heavily discounted digital version alongside the attachable disc drive.
Additionally, while digital sales are certainly on the rise now, they haven’t always been. According to Ars Technica, in 2018, digital sales only accounted for 43% of total sales, and in 2019, just over half at 55%. It wasn’t until 202,0 with the launch of the PS5 that digital sales rose well over 50% of total sales to 62%. This is all to state that physical media dominated for much of the PS4 era, resulting in not only a huge second-hand market of games significantly cheaper than their digital counterparts, but also players with sizable physical libraries they won’t want to sacrifice in the move to next-gen. Simply put, at least for the next generation, Sony cannot afford to release a discless PS6.
The PlayStation 6 Will Almost Certainly Launch With A Disc Drive
Not only does PlayStation’s former boss think the PS6 will have a disc drive (largely due to internet access and the stability of connections), but Sony can’t afford to risk neglecting the presumably large portion of its userbase that still relies on or has a significant physical collection. If the console is to offer backwards compatibility, especially with PlayStation 4 titles, then it has to come with some form of disc drive, or else it’ll mean that people will have to choose between the library of games they’ve already heavily financially invested in or paying at least $500 for a console that can’t play said games.
There has been some speculation that the PlayStation 6 will be digital-only in order to cut down on costs, which would mean that Sony would have to release a detachable disc drive for those still interested in physical media. However, the risk there is, just like when the PS5 Pro launched, these could sell out rather quickly, leaving those who would only buy the console alongside the disc drive choosing to stick with their PS5 instead. There’s already a good chance many will stick with their PS5 anyway, as it appears that the PS5 will continue to be supported well into its successor’s lifespan, with Sony executive, Lin Tao, stating in 2025 that Sony “believe[s] that the PS5 is only in the middle of the journey, and [it is] really planning to expand it even further.“
Sony needs to do everything it can in order to ensure that it is selling as many PS6’s as possible, especially as the major PlayStation 6 delays and rising costs of core materials will inevitably set Sony back a considerable amount. It cannot afford to be digital-only, even if that is where the industry is heading, eventually. Sony should not make the same mistake as its competitor, Xbox, which spent the majority of the Xbox One and especially the Xbox Series X/S era catering to tomorrow’s audience, rather than today’s. It must take into consideration the large physical market, both second-hand and new, if it wants the PS6 to survive.
Digital Media Is The Future, But It Hasn’t Won Just Yet
In 2025, Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Platform Business Group CEO, Hideaki Nishino, told Famitsu that “there is no doubt that home video game consoles will remain at the center of our business for some time,” further adding that while some people may believe we’re entering the era of cloud streaming, “you still need a controller and a screen in your hand” for it to work. The same is absolutely true of physical and digital media. Yes, we are moving toward a world in which physical media becomes largely obsolete, and perhaps when that day arrives, there will be exclusively digital consoles, or it will all be entirely cloud-based.
However, for now, I believe that Sony will continue to support the physical media that, until very recently, dominated the sales charts and takes up a considerable amount of space in our homes. What I suspect will happen is we’ll have a traditional, disc version of the PS6 as well as either a cheaper digital one, as we saw with the PS5, or the rumored PS6 handheld console. The latter would need its own unique cartridges like the Switch or PSP, which seems impractical, especially if Sony is making the move away from physical media. So, it will likely be entirely digital, akin to the PlayStation Portal, albeit with the ability to run games natively from the console itself.
On a personal level, I sincerely hope this is the case. I have a great affinity for physical media, and I am a staunch believer in actually owning the things we buy, something that is simply not the case with easily revokable digital content. It, of course, remains to be seen whether the PS6 includes some form of disc drive, but I would hope that the same company that so cleverly advertised the PS4’s ability to play pre-owned games would continue to uphold the value and meaningfulness of physical media, if only for a little while longer.
Do you think the PS6 will have a disc drive? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in theย ComicBook Forum!
Most Viewed
-
Image Courtesy of Netflix -
Crunchyroll
