sony rumored to walk back the no discs thing and i'm not buying it

Seen this rumor making the rounds all weekend. Sony might be walking back the whole "no more discs after January 2028" thing. Push Square isn't buying it and neither am I.

The original plan was pretty clear. PlayStation stops manufacturing physical discs in January 2028. That set off a bunch of people, enough that some PS5 owners started a permanent blackout protest. No GTA 6, no Wolverine, nothing until Sony changes course.

Now there's chatter that Sony is reconsidering because Xbox is supposedly going all in on physical. I don't know where that Xbox part came from but it sounds like fan fiction. Microsoft has been pushing Game Pass and digital for years. The idea they'd suddenly go 100% physical feels backwards.

For GTA 6 specifically this matters a lot. The game drops November 19 and a ton of us already pre-ordered the Ultimate Edition. If Sony really does kill discs in 2028, GTA 6 might be one of the last big physical releases on PS5. That's a weird thought.

I get why people are upset. A $79.99 game you can't resell or lend is a different value proposition. And GTA games have always been the kind of thing you keep on a shelf. My GTA 5 disc is still in the case from 2013.

But reversing course now? After announcing it and dealing with the backlash? Companies don't usually fold that fast. The blackout protest is loud but I doubt it's moving Sony's bottom line enough to change a manufacturing roadmap.

What do you all think, is there any chance Sony actually walks this back before GTA 6 or is this just wishful thinking from the physical collectors?

Source: Push Square · Curated content.

The Xbox claim appears in zero reporting outside the rumor itself. One unsourced line carrying a lot of weight (the Push Square piece doesn't source it either).

On the GTA 6 angle: launch is November 19, 2026, roughly 14 months before the January 2028 cutoff. Disc production ending wouldn't touch this release either way. The shelf problem lands on whatever ships after.

Blackout protest or not, GTA 6 is safe, it ships over a year before that cutoff. The people getting hurt are whoever buys a PS5 game in 2029.

And yeah, the Xbox going all-physical part smells made up. Anyway I still have my San Andreas disc in the case, so I get the shelf thing. Companies don't reverse manufacturing plans because of a hashtag though.

No PC version announced, so console is the only door in. Sony knows that. They could ship GTA 6 on a memory card and we'd still line up.

The timeline math settles it for me. November 19, 2026 sits well inside the cutoff, so my copy is safe either way. I still pre-ordered the Ultimate Edition digitally, though. After logging 100% completion on every GTA since San Andreas, my shelf space goes to the older cases anyway. The reversal rumor reads like wishful thinking from collectors. Manufacturing roadmaps don't bend to hashtags.

They could ship GTA 6 on a memory card and we'd still line up.

Not wrong and that's the problem. Sony knows we'll show up anyway. Zero leverage.

I'm still going disc though. Same reason I keep the OEM parts after a swap, resale and lending matter. A $99.99 Ultimate Edition you can't trade or hand to your buddy is a DIFFERENT deal. And GTA 6 on the shelf next to the old cases just feels right.

The Xbox pivoting to physical story is fan fiction. They spent a decade pushing Game Pass. Nobody reverses a whole business model that fast, not Microsoft and not Sony either. GTA 6 ships a year plus before the cutoff so collectors get their trophy regardless. The real fight is whatever drops in 2028.