As Sony’s decision to kill off physical discs continues to aggravate, the company has offered out a reminder of the downsides of digital games.
Sony’s announcement that it will cease production of PlayStation game discs after 2027 has sparked anger amongst many, as it tries to accelerate a digital-only future at the expense of its customers.
This decision led to petitions and, over the weekend, a group of gamers kicked off a ‘blackout’ protest, where participants are encouraged to turn off their PlayStation consoles for a week, to disrupt Sony’s active players metric.
In the days leading up to this protest, which began on Sunday, Sony just happened to send out an email reminding people of the ‘PlayStation Terms’ which, amongst other things, emphasise how you don’t technically own any games you buy digitally.
‘The software is licensed to you, not sold,’ reads the email, which was also sent to us on Saturday, and similarly received by others last week. ‘You are granted a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, and personal license to play or use the software for your private, non-commercial use on the system or device it was intended for.’
It goes on to list all the restrictions surrounding digital game purchases, including, amongst other things, how you can’t rent, lease, modify, or ‘obtain the software in any manner other than through [Sony Interactive Entertainment’s] authorised distribution methods’.
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It states that those who received the email ‘recently accepted the following PlayStation terms’ adding: ‘For your convenience and future reference, we have included full copies of the terms in this email. Please retain this email for your records. The terms set out important information about your rights and obligations when using PlayStation.’
As stated further down the email, the PlayStation terms of service were last updated in April 2026, so it’s unclear why these messages are being sent out in August – and, even more bizarrely, one day ahead of the planned boycott.
Whether it was coincidental or not (some received the same email earlier this month), it’s a terrible look for PlayStation, as the company continues to show absolute contempt for its audience – whether through anti-consumer practises or via its cursed pursuit of a live service hit nobody wants.
Sony has addressed the backlash to the disc debacle, stating that it ‘understands those emotions’ but it’s still planning to ‘cautiously’ progress with its plans. It hasn’t been confirmed, but it’s assumed the decision to end disc production is laying the groundwork for the PlayStation 6, which is now expected to be all-digital.
It seems highly unlikely that this boycott will reverse Sony’s decision on the matter, especially as it doesn’t seem to have attracted a very large audience, but the big question is whether this anger will continue to accelerate as we get closer to the PlayStation 6.
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