Sony's decision to kill off PlayStation discs could destroy the $7.2bn used game market, according to analysts - Eurogamer.net

What the report says

Eurogamer reports that Sony’s reported plan to stop manufacturing PlayStation game discs by January 2028 has raised concern among analysts about the future of the second-hand games business. Citing analysis from Dataintelo via CNBC, Eurogamer says the global pre-owned market — including used games, consoles, accessories and peripherals — is estimated at $7.2 billion in 2025 and had been projected to grow to $13.8 billion by 2034.

The Dataintelo figures cited by Eurogamer show consoles made up 42.3% of that 2025 revenue. North America was described as the largest region, with 36.8% of the market, or about $2.65 billion, while Europe accounted for 28.3%. The report named GameStop, Amazon, eBay and Decluttr as leading North American players, with CEX leading in Europe. Asia Pacific was placed third at 24.6%, while Latin America, the Middle East and Africa together represented 10.3%.

Analysts quoted in the article said the disappearance of new physical PlayStation releases could remove a major path for players to buy cheaper games or trade in old titles to fund new purchases. Wedbush’s Michael Pachter told Eurogamer that used games have historically represented at least a third of sales and warned that physical game retail faces a severe threat. Morningstar’s Kazunori Ito said consumers may resist a digital shift if it is effectively imposed by removing alternatives.

Eurogamer notes that existing PlayStation discs would not be affected directly, but future releases could become digital-only. The article also says the move may signal that Sony’s next console will lack a disc drive, while Microsoft has not confirmed whether its next Xbox will do the same.