EU Says It's Powerless to Stop PlayStation From Killing Discs: 'Companies Are Free to Offer Games and Services in the Manner They See Fit'

As gamers sign online petitions and swarm upon each and every PlayStation social media post, the EU has said it’s powerless to actually stop Sony — and indeed any company — from killing discs.

Sony's controversial decision to stop releasing games on physical discs has sparked a backlash from gamers upset at the move to an all-digital future for all new PS5 games launched from January 2028 onwards — something that's almost certain to also continue on PS6. A high-profile petition calling on Sony to reconsider its decision is inching towards 300,000 signatures, and in the past few days, PS5 users have taken to social media to share screenshots of cancelled PS Plus subscriptions.

Some had hoped that the EU, which has a record of strict consumer protection, might aid the cause, but Ireland’s EU Commissioner has said Sony cannot be stopped from doing away with physical discs.

As reported by the Irish Mirror, European Commissioner for consumer protection, Michael McGrath, said the EU is unable to step in. "It does come down to commercial and contractual freedoms, and companies are free to offer games and services in the manner that they see fit, provided that consumer rights are fully protected in line with national and EU law,” he said.

"At this time, we did have to consider a European citizens initiative on this question of whether games should continue to be available after a new edition of the game has been brought forward."

Part of the backlash around Sony’s decision to kill discs has to do with ownership and preservation. Last month, the Stop Killing Games campaign suffered a setback when the European Commission said it was unable to propose a legal obligation to keep video games playable after they stop being provided commercially due to existing intellectual property rights. Under EU copyright law, the Commission said, rights holders enjoy exclusive rights over their creations.

The Commission pointed to existing EU consumer law, which forces video game publishers and developers to inform consumers about the duration and the conditions for terminating the contract before the consumers sign up for the video game. The Commission did, however, say it would talk with the games industry and consumer representatives to draw up an industry code of conduct on managing video games' "end of life."

With the EU out of the picture, will the online backlash be enough to force Sony into a U-turn? Not a chance, analysts have told IGN. Dr. Serkan Toto, CEO of Japanese game industry consultancy firm Kantan Games, suggested that even if half a million people cancelled their PlayStation Plus subscription in protest, it would be just a drop in the ocean for Sony — which is not going to change its mind.

"I sympathize with physical media fans, but Sony will not reverse this decision," Toto told IGN. "They of course knew what the online reaction would look like, and they now wait for this storm to pass.

"Sony has over 120 million active PlayStation users," he continued. "Around 50 million people subscribe to PlayStation Plus. As a thought experiment, let's say 500,000 cancel in protest, that would be just 1% of that business gone — of course not enough to Sony to start rethinking. Digital is just too lucrative."

For Sony, going all-digital for new game releases will earn it more money from every sale at a time when console sales are expected to plummet due to their rising cost. For a first-party PlayStation game such as The Last of Us, Sony will only keep around 65% of the money from a physical copy, with around 30% going to the retailer and roughly another 5% on manufacturing costs. Meanwhile, for a physical copy of a third-party game such as the Activision-published Call of Duty, Sony will get a licensing fee, likely around 15%.

For downloads, however, the margins are much higher. For a first-party game sold via Sony's own PlayStation Store, the company obviously keeps 100% of the revenue. For third-party games such as Call of Duty, meanwhile, Sony keeps a 30% cut (so, roughly $21 for a $70 game).

Overnight, Santa Monica Studio confirmed that God of War Laufey will "be available on disc," suggesting its launch will arrive in 2027. Insomniac has also confirmed Marvel’s Wolverine will be released on-disc.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.