Ubisoft CEO Says Sony Ditching Game Discs Won't Be a Big Deal
Sony's slow march toward an all-digital future isn't going to shake up the games industry as much as some might fear — at least according to Ubisoft's CEO. Yves Guillemot recently downplayed concerns about Sony's decision to phase out physical game discs, arguing that the shift has been happening gradually for years and players are already prepared for it.
Guillemot made the comments during a financial call, responding to questions about how the console maker's move away from physical media might affect Ubisoft's business. His take? It's not going to be a big deal.
"We've been seeing the transition to digital for a long time," Guillemot said. "Players are used to it now. The impact won't be significant."
A Shift Years in the Making
Sony has been pushing digital adoption aggressively since the PS4 era. The PS5 launched with a Digital Edition that sold alongside the disc-based model, and in recent months, reports have surfaced suggesting Sony is preparing to release a detachable disc drive accessory — a sign that the standard disc drive may eventually disappear entirely from future PlayStation hardware.
For publishers like Ubisoft, the math is simple. Digital sales cut out retail middlemen, improve profit margins, and give publishers more control over pricing and sales. They also eliminate the costs of manufacturing discs, printing manuals, and shipping physical inventory. Guillemot's confidence reflects what many publishers quietly believe: the disc is a relic that's been kept alive largely by nostalgia and collector culture.
But that doesn't mean the transition is painless for everyone.
Who Loses in an All-Digital Future
The biggest losers in a disc-less world are players who rely on physical media for reasons beyond preference. Physical games can be bought used at a discount, shared between friends, resold, and — crucially — played without an internet connection or server authentication. An all-digital PlayStation eliminates all of those options.
There's also the preservation angle. Physical discs can be played decades later as long as the hardware still works. Digital games depend on servers staying online, storefronts remaining active, and license servers continuing to authenticate your purchases. When Sony eventually shuts down the PS5's storefront — as it did with the PS3, PS Vita, and PSP — those digital libraries become inaccessible unless you've already downloaded everything.
Guillemot's perspective is a publisher's perspective. For a company like Ubisoft, which sells games through its own Ubisoft Connect platform and has embraced digital distribution aggressively, the disc has been more of a distribution cost than a benefit for years.
The Numbers Tell the Story
The data backs up Guillemot's confidence. Digital game sales now account for the vast majority of revenue across the industry. Sony itself reported that digital downloads made up 67% of full game sales on PlayStation platforms in its most recent fiscal year. That number has been climbing steadily every year.
Even big physical releases like Alan Wake 2 shipped without a disc version at launch, and no one batted an eye. The industry has been preparing for this moment for a decade.
But there's a difference between "most players buy digital" and "players have no choice." The latter removes agency from the consumer, and that's where the skepticism comes in.
The Counterpoint: Choice Matters
Here's the thing — Guillemot isn't wrong about the trajectory. Digital is the future, and it's been the present for a while now. But dismissing the disc's disappearance as "not a big deal" ignores the real concerns that players have raised.
For one, digital pricing on PlayStation has been notoriously inconsistent. Physical copies regularly go on sale for significantly less than their digital counterparts, and without discs, players lose the ability to shop around for the best deal. There's also the issue of game ownership — when you buy a disc, you own a physical object. When you buy a digital license, you're renting access to a game that can be revoked at any time.
And let's not forget the AI arms race driving up development costs. As games get more expensive to make, publishers are looking for any way to maximize revenue. Removing discs eliminates the used game market entirely, forcing every sale to be a new sale.
What Comes Next for PlayStation
Sony hasn't announced an official date for killing discs entirely, but the writing has been on the wall for years. The PS5 Pro — if rumors are to be believed — might be the first PlayStation console to ship without a disc drive as standard. The detachable drive accessory suggests Sony is keeping the option alive for now, but the default experience is clearly moving toward digital-only.
For Ubisoft, that future can't come soon enough. Guillemot's comments aren't just an observation — they're a signal of where the industry's largest publishers want to go. The disc's death might not be a big deal to the people selling games, but for the people buying them, it's worth paying attention to what we're losing along the way.
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