Sony has reached a historic milestone in the production of PlayStation game discs. The company decided to transform its facility, located in the Thalgau region of Austria, which has long been one of the centers of physical media operations, into a laboratory that will focus on Micro Optics technology.

To date, this facility has hosted critical production lines for PlayStation game discs. The factory, which has a daily production capacity of approximately 600 thousand discs, is now being restructured for new generation optical technologies.

Big change in the production line and the 2028 calendar

Sony Interactive Entertainment announced that it will completely stop producing physical discs for new games that will be released for PlayStation consoles as of January 2028. After this date, new games will meet players in digital formats via PlayStation Store and retail channels.

Games that were released in disc format before January 2028 or whose physical version will be released before this date will not be affected by this decision. The Thalgau facility within Sony DADC is at the center of this strategic transition, shifting from physical media production to Micro Optics.

Sony made an investment of approximately 30 million euros for this transformation process. The investment in question is devoted to the installation of new equipment required for optical micro lens production, and mass production is aimed to start in 2027.

The 300 workers working at the facility are being retrained for the new production line instead of being laid off. Employees were included in the preparation processes to leave disk production and take part in Micro Optics operations.

Micro Optics technology includes miniature optical systems that direct and focus light in very small areas. This technology can be used in a wide range of applications, from automotive to XR heads, from sensors to industrial systems.

This transformation at the Thalgau facility stands out as one of the most concrete steps showing that Sony is gradually shrinking its physical media production. The company also weakens the possibility of a return by moving its disk production capacity to another technology area.

The end of physical discs in the PlayStation ecosystem once again brings up discussions about game ownership and archiving. Sony states that retail stores will continue to sell games, but models such as digital codes will come to the fore instead of boxed discs.

Sony also announced a new calendar for PS3 and PS Vita stores. The period for purchasing new digital content on these platforms will end globally in July 2027.

In PlayStation history, the CD, DVD and Blu-ray periods were an important part of the consoles’ identity. With the 2028 decision, this physical media line is closing for new games.

How do you think the complete loss of physical game discs will affect the gaming world?