Only 7 PS5 Games Sold 100K Physical Copies in 2026

Gamers are furious about Sony’s recent decision to completely stop producing physical PlayStation game discs by January 2028. If you look at the comments under any recent PlayStation YouTube video, especially the highly anticipated trailer for Marvel’s Wolverine, you will see a flood of protests and a staggering number of dislikes. Even trailers for small indie games that were never getting a disc release are being review-bombed. Despite the overwhelming outcry on the internet, data indicates that most of us have long since stopped purchasing physical games.

According to Mat Piscatella, a senior director and video game industry advisor at Circana, only seven PlayStation titles have managed to sell more than 100,000 physical copies in the United States so far in 2026. To put this market's decline into perspective, only two games from the entire PlayStation ecosystem sold more than 10,000 physical units in the United States during the week ending July 11. Piscatella clarified that this severe drop-off covers all publishers and spans both the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 platforms.

Taking to the social platform Bluesky to address the ongoing backlash, Piscatella pointed out a harsh reality about modern consumer habits. While he acknowledged that players should absolutely make their displeasure known, the anger simply does not match actual spending. "Commenting is cool, use your voice and all that," Piscatella stated in a post. "But commenting is cheap, I don't know." 

While Circana hasn't officially named the seven games keeping the physical market on life support, industry estimates suggest they are massive blockbusters and evergreen hits like Resident Evil Requiem, Crimson Desert, 007 First Light and EA Sports FC 26. 

How Convenience and Digital Dominance Won

Over the last decade, convenience has quietly won. High-speed internet, regular digital storefront sales, and subscription services like PlayStation Plus have permanently transformed how we play. Even the consoles in our living rooms reflect this massive shift. Piscatella estimates that more than a quarter of all PlayStation 5 consoles in the US are the digital-only edition, while over half of all Xbox Series consoles lack a disc drive entirely, as per VGC Gaming. 

Independent data from Alinea Analytics shows that major 2026 releases have still performed decently on disc worldwide. Resident Evil Requiem saw roughly 27.8% of its estimated 3.5M global sales come from physical copies. But as the 2028 manufacturing cutoff rapidly approaches, the era of building a tangible, shelf-filling PlayStation library is undeniably nearing its end.

Ultimately, the physical media debate might not even be the biggest hurdle on the horizon for the PlayStation community. Looking ahead to the next generation, Piscatella suggested that the lack of a disc drive won't be what dictates consumer choices, price will be. Addressing the eventual launch of PlayStation's next system, he offered a sobering prediction for the future: "When the mass market sees the PS6 at potentially $1,000+, physical games being a thing or not won’t even make it to the decision-making process."