Ken Kutaragi, the engineer who led PlayStation from the original console to the PS3, says he understands why fans are angry about Sony ending game disc production, but he doesn’t think keeping discs is “economically reasonable”. Speaking to VGC at the Game Republic New Horizons event in Middlesbrough, UK, he admitted that Sony’s handling of the move has “caused some friction with game enthusiasts”.
The interview, published on October 16, adds a founding voice to the row over Sony’s plan to stop pressing discs for new games from January 2028.
The PS5 Slim's detachable disc drive. From January 2028, Sony will stop pressing discs for new PlayStation games. Image: Sony Interactive Entertainment
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What Ken Kutaragi said about PlayStation discs
Kutaragi, now 76, left Sony in 2007. He has argued for years that networks would replace physical media; VGC notes that he predicted digital distribution would make discs unnecessary as far back as 2006. He told the outlet that connectivity is what changed the equation: in the PS2 and PS3 era the hardware could go online, but most players weren’t connected. “Now, many, many people are connected,” he said.
He was careful not to dismiss the backlash. “I understand that physical discs have become a metaphor for ‘owning’ games. I really understand that mentality,” he said, before comparing consoles to phones: nobody asks for physical media on a smartphone, because people trust that they will keep their content. “So it’s a mentality,” he added, and he repeated that he doesn’t see disc production as economically reasonable.
The sharpest part of the interview was about who runs PlayStation today. Kutaragi said Sony Interactive Entertainment now has “many people who have come from outside, like from Gaikai or streaming companies”, and that they may see PlayStation “not just as a game console, but also a content terminal”. That view, he suggested, is exactly what clashes with dedicated players.
Sony’s January 2028 disc cutoff, explained
Sony announced the change on the PlayStation Blog on July 1, 2026. The key points:
- What ends: disc production for all new games releasing on PlayStation consoles, starting January 2028.
- What replaces it: new games will be sold “in digital formats only”, on PlayStation Store and at retailers.
- What doesn’t change: games already out on disc, or releasing on disc before January 2028, are not affected.
- Sony’s reason: the “general preference for digital media significantly outpaces physical discs”.
The disc-free box is already arriving at retail. As we covered in our GTA 6 pre-order guide, Rockstar has confirmed the boxed version of GTA 6 holds only a download code, with no disc inside.
The decision has dominated PlayStation fan conversation since July. Fans organised a console “blackout” protest at the end of August, and Push Square reported this week on research by social analytics firm Cyabra claiming that almost half of the replies it studied on official PlayStation posts about the protest came from inauthentic accounts. Cyabra also found that the most-engaged posts came from real players.
Kutaragi says PlayStation's current leaders may see the console as a 'content terminal' as much as a games machine. Image: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Kutaragi’s warning on hardware prices
At the same event, Kutaragi gave a keynote hosted by The Game Business, and his comments there, as reported by VGC, reach beyond discs. He said consumer hardware has become “super expensive” (VGC ties the price rises to the global components shortage) and that “PCs are so expensive. It’s the price of a car! It’s not healthy.” Manufacturers need to “find elegant solutions”, he argued, and if the industry uses AI and cloud computing to their full potential, “we won’t need any console”. He was quick to add that this “isn’t an official comment” from Sony.
What it means for PlayStation players
Kutaragi has no role at Sony today; he is now CEO of Ascent Robotics and Cyber AI Entertainment. His comments won’t change the policy. They do put a respected PlayStation name behind the idea that the backlash is about trust and ownership, not nostalgia, and that Sony’s messaging hasn’t won fans over.
What’s next: the disc cutoff is about 14 months away. Until January 2028, games already planned for disc can still ship on disc. After that, new PlayStation games will be digital only, including copies sold at retail, so anyone who wants PS5 games on disc should check each release before then. We’ll follow up if Sony changes course or adds more detail on how retail codes will work. For more PlayStation news, see our roundup of PS Plus Extra games for October 2026 and the latest Ghost of Yotei sales estimates.
Sources: VGC interview with Ken Kutaragi, PlayStation Blog, Push Square, Cyabra.
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Featured image: Sony Interactive Entertainment
