It’s been three weeks since Sony announced that it would end physical disc support on PlayStation consoles by 2028. The first comment from major game publishers, who have remained silent until now about this controversial decision, came from Ubisoft.

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot made evaluations about the bet at the company’s last interest meeting. Guillemot stated that giving up physical media has both advantages and disadvantages, and argued that this situation will not shake the gaming industry to a great extent.

Digitalization and Hardware Costs

Stating that experiences on the PC side helped the market grow, Guillemot stated that the transition to a completely digital structure could put pressure on hardware costs. The CEO stated that focusing solely on digital games could contribute to the production of more accessible machines.

Reminding that platforms such as Steam encourage digitalization in the PC world, Ubisoft aims to avoid platform prices with its own platform, Ubisoft Connect. It seems that Sony wants to follow a similar strategy and keep the revenues it shares in retail sales within its own PlayStation Store.

Analysts suggest that Sony is looking for savings due to the increasing production costs of PlayStation 6. Being able to receive all revenue from digital sales in games such as Marvel’s Wolverine is a valuable source of economic motivation for the company.

Concerns Continue on the Consumer Front

It is clear that the removal of physical disks has significant disadvantages for consumers. Restriction of game ownership, weakening of game preservation processes and the end of the second-hand game market that keeps prices stable are among the biggest concerns of users.

Thousands of PlayStation users who reacted to Sony’s decision on social media channels do not agree with the view that the division will not be affected by this change. Ubisoft, on the other hand, is currently going through a difficult period with a restructuring process, budget cuts and delayed game projects.

The company’s quarterly profits fell nearly 10 percent year-on-year. Despite this, Assassin’s Creed Black Flag: Resynced has already surpassed the expectations set for the year with sales exceeding 3.5 million.

What do you think the transition to a completely digital gaming world will have in the long term for players?