Leak: Sony Reportedly Surveying Developers Over Possible End to Physical Discs

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The story

Overseas leaker “Moore’s Law Is Dead” claims Sony has sent developers a large-scale survey about its plan to discontinue physical discs, apparently to gauge whether the policy should be reconsidered. On 5ch’s Hardware/Industry (“Geha”) board, the timing sparked skepticism — with posters asking “what’s the point of asking now?” and “isn’t this just covering their tracks?” — since the discontinuation had seemed all but settled. Others questioned the credibility of the source, given MLID is known mainly for PC hardware leaks, while some called for alternatives like Nintendo’s key-card system instead, fueling further debate.

What people said

1AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:08
🔵 Sony Surveys Developers on Its Decision to Discontinue Physical Discs 💿
According to a rumor from "Moore's Law Is Dead," the company has sent out a large-scale survey asking developers for their views on the decision to discontinue physical discs — apparently to determine whether the policy should be reconsidered.
The survey reportedly includes questions along the lines of, "Do you have any concerns about not selling games on physical media?"
6AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:09
If they were actually discontinuing it, they wouldn't bother with a survey!
8AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:10
If they end up keeping it, maybe they'll switch to cheap DVDs instead? As long as there's a disc in the box, Western gamers don't seem to mind even if a mandatory extra download is required.
53AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:33
Re: #8
So basically the key-card system — that's just a boot disc, isn't it?
9AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:11
I'd love for it to be true, but the source is Moore's Law Is Dead? Can that guy even get info like this? Isn't he an AMD specialist?
26AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:17
It's not like they're discontinuing it on a whim, so what's the point of a survey now? Are they stupid?
34AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:21
Re: #26
It's probably just paperwork to draw up a list of which third parties would 'betray' them.
30AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:18
Too late for that now — Sony HQ has already said they won't make disc drives anymore. Plus the PS6 is probably already being designed disc-less and heading into mass-production prep, so there's no walking it back.
31AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:18
Re: #30
Wait, does Sony even make disc drives?
33AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:21
But Blu-ray disc production has already ended, right? So it's a no-go.
35AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:21
Re: #33
Microsoft and Nintendo don't manufacture Blu-ray discs or SD cards either, you know.
37AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:24
Lol, running a survey after they've already decided to discontinue it.
60AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:35
Re: #37
They're even holding sales to clear shelf space for it lol
38AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:25
Swallow your pride and just go with the same key-card system as Nintendo. As long as I can still buy and sell games used, I don't care whether the actual data is on the card or not.
39AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:25
Re: #38
But there's no card slot [on the PS5]. If they're going to do this, it'd just be a regular key disc.
51AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:32
Re: #39
Even with Sony discontinuing BD, could they still make discs if the CD/DVD line is separate? Though apparently PS5 can't read CDs, so it'd probably end up being DVD.
64AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:37
Re: #39
Just roll it out with the PS6. A USB stick would work too.
49AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:31
Could they stop making recordable Blu-ray discs but keep Blu-ray going for something else?
52AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:33
Re: #49
No need to keep it going. Xbox still has discs overseas too, but they're not manufacturing Blu-ray discs themselves.
50AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:31
This is already rigged. The outcome — discontinuation — is decided, and they're just running the survey to shut the loud complainers up: 'See? Most people are in favor of discontinuing it.'
58AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:34
Re: #50
They're never going to release the results publicly anyway.
56AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:34
Developers are probably in favor of discontinuing it — apparently without a disc version, they get extra breathing room on the deadline right up until release day.
59AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:35
Re: #56
Doesn't matter, it's multiplatform anyway.
96AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:50
Re: #56
Making the disc version first also means the pre-order money comes in earlier.
57AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:34
They probably think spreading this 'rumor' will make people hold off on selling their PS5s. Such a sleazy way to do things.
61AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:35
Re: #57
Yeah, that's probably it.
65AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:37
Re: #57
Guess they'll just keep 'running surveys' all the way to 2030 then.
76AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:42
If they walk this back, Xbox is completely finished.
77AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:42
Re: #76
Yeah, yeah — so THAT was the point of this rumor all along.
81AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:44
Re: #76
If anything, don't you realize PlayStation is the one that's finished if they DON'T walk it back lol
85AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:45
Re: #76
Lol, do you even realize the PS5 is finished if they go through with discontinuing it as-is
78AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:43
All they ever do is cause trouble for retailers.
87AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:46
Re: #78
Then let's survey the big retailers too.
79AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:43
Blu-ray really didn't have a single good thing going for it, huh.
82AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:45
Re: #79
Tell me one good thing about HD DVD then.
84AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:45
Yeah, and if they suddenly go 'never mind, we'll keep making them,' Rockstar's gonna lose it.
90AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:47
Re: #84
What does Rockstar have to do with this?
93AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:47
Sounds like they'll split the difference and settle on key cards.
98AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:51
Re: #93
More and more titles don't even fit on a single Blu-ray anymore — it's basically already a key-disc setup at this point.
99AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:52
If they're doing this anyway, just adopt a new format already. A single-layer BD at 25GB is garbage by today's standards.
100AnonymousSep 24, 2026 07:53
Re: #99
Wait, isn't it 50GB?

Background and Key Points of the Discussion

The purported source of the survey, “Moore’s Law Is Dead,” is best known for leaks about PC CPUs and GPUs and has a thin track record on console internals — a point that drew notable skepticism in the thread about the source’s reliability. As an alternative to physical discs, posters raised Nintendo’s Switch-style “Game Card” system (where the card itself doesn’t hold all the data, requiring an additional download after startup), but since the PS5 hardware has no card slot, it was pointed out that any implementation would likely take the form of a “key disc” — a conventional disc containing only a boot key. Whether the production line for game optical discs is shared with recordable Blu-ray also came up as a point of debate, but the industry has offered no official explanation and it remains unconfirmed. It’s worth noting Sony has made no official announcement whatsoever — this remains strictly unverified leaker information.

*This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Hardware/Industry, “Geha”) thread “Leaker: “Sony Sent Developers a Large-Scale Survey on the Decision to Discontinue Physical Discs, Reconsidering the Policy”.”

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