Update #2 [Mon 31st Aug 2026, 10:45pm]: After industry veteran Richard Browne rubbished rumours regarding publisher unrest in relation to Sony’s decision to stop manufacturing physical discs, now Digital Foundry’s John Linneman has joined the discussion.
In a new video, he said the developers and publishers he spoke to were “largely very upset” about the move, as they see a “lot of return, in fact a majority, through physical sales”.
While Linneman didn’t elaborate on the people he spoke to, he went on to say that “obviously the big partners and big AAA studios don’t care”, so it’s safe to assume he’s talking about more boutique operations here.
That would make sense, as smaller publishers like, for example, Clear River Games lean quite heavily into physical products for their games. (Though they also sell them digitally.)
The major publishers are likely in support of Sony’s decision, as they’re able to increase their margins through digital downloads. A move in that direction is in their best interest.
Linneman said he got the impression the businesses he talked to will put their weight behind the Switch 2 moving forward, which still has a vibrant physical market, but that obviously includes the controversial Game Key Cards and – in some cases – more expensive physical cartridges.
“The industry side is not positive, and there seems to be a lot of resentment for what Sony’s doing,” Linneman concluded.
“I’m wondering if this is the kind of thing that will result in potentially less good results for Sony. They’re not infallible and they’re not automatically going to get the audience. We’ll see.”
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2026/09/theres-a-lot-of-resentment-for-sony-sources-go-back-and-forth-on-publisher-backlash-to-ps5-physical-discs
