Signs have emerged that Sony has attached a notice to PS5 console boxes stating that it will sell new PlayStation games only in digital format from January 2028.

TechRadar reported on Aug. 6 that X user and content creator Behind the Games released a photo showing a new sticker on the back of a PS5 box.

The text in the photo reads: "Important notice: From January 2028, new PlayStation games can be purchased only in digital format from the PlayStation Store and retail stores." It also says that disks for games released before January 2028 can continue to be played on the console.

The photo has not been officially confirmed. Behind the Games said the image was not taken personally but received from a reliable source.

The label photo follows Sony's plan, disclosed last month, to end disk production. At the time, Sony set out a policy to stop producing physical disks with less than 2 years remaining, and backlash spread among PlayStation users. The Entertainment Retailers Association, an industry distribution group, criticised the plan as a "decision that puts corporate convenience ahead of consumer choice".

Sony then offered no separate response for several weeks before restating its position in its fiscal 2026 first-quarter earnings release. CFO Lin Tao (린 타오) confirmed that the company is proceeding with the decision cautiously.

Lin cited changes in how content is consumed as the reason for the decision. "There are many reasons we made this decision, but the biggest reason is that overall content digitisation is progressing," he said. "This is not just a PlayStation issue; digitisation is progressing across all kinds of content," he said.

"Sony spent a lot of thought and time in reviewing the future direction, and after careful review reached this conclusion," he said. "We will proceed with this policy cautiously," he said.

The core issue is not a simple change in packaging wording but whether PlayStation's distribution structure will shift. If new titles are sold as digital-only after 2028, users will be able to buy new games only through the PlayStation Store or retail channels that sell digital codes. Disks for games released before January 2028 can be used on the PS5 as before.

In this 흐름, market attention is focused on whether Sony has officially applied the notice to product boxes and whether it will press ahead with the disk phaseout schedule despite user backlash and criticism from the distribution industry. Sony has so far issued no additional statement on the authenticity of the label photo.