Kojima (X)
Hideo Kojima has shared his disappointment following Sony’s announcement that new PlayStation games will no longer release on physical discs from 2028, saying the shift toward digital ownership leaves him “very sad.”
Sony confirmed on July 1 that physical disc production for new games releasing on PlayStation consoles will end in January 2028, with future releases moving to digital distribution.
Kojima fears players could lose access to games they buy
Speaking during the II Cinema in Piazza film festival in Italy, Kojima said (translated by Genki) he had already started buying physical media while it remains available.
“Since production is ending in 2028, this is about video games, but I grew up with physical media, so I find it really sad,” he said.
“Currently, I’ve been buying up a lot of Blu-rays, such as various movies, and CDs too.”
Speaking at the "Il Cinema in Piazza" Film Festival in Italy.
Translation by me.
Source: https://t.co/ztnvmIHbcE
— Genki✨ (@Genki_JPN) July 5, 2026
Kojima said the current shift from physical media to digital downloads is not what worries him most, as downloaded games are still stored on a player’s own hardware.
Instead, he believes the industry could eventually move further toward streaming services similar to Netflix or Amazon, where games are hosted on company servers rather than owned by players.
“There are companies that own these servers and let you ‘turn the tap’ for a monthly fee,” he explained. “However, with nations, politics and various ways of thinking, one naturally has to consider the possibility that if there is a change, the data inside will stop being distributed.”
“And if that happens, you won’t be able to watch or play the movies and games you like. That is what is frightening.”
Kojima added that while his comments were focused on video games, he believes the same concerns could eventually apply to movies as physical media continues to decline.
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“So, what is happening to video games in 2028, might also happen to movies. I’d like everyone to keep that in mind.”
Kojima’s next game, OD, is a horror game in development at his Kojima Productions studio and published by Xbox. In June, he said the game will “go beyond the limit of scariness.”
