PlayStation Survey Finds 45% of Fans Eyeing a PC Switch

Nearly half of PlayStation enthusiasts are considering leaving the platform, according to a Push Square community poll. The site found that 45% of respondents are "seriously considering" a move to PC, while just 23% said they would stick with PlayStation. The poll drew more than 6,500 votes.

The results come after Sony said on July 1 that new games released on PlayStation consoles will stop shipping on disc from January 2028, moving to digital-only distribution through the PlayStation Store and retailers. Games released before that cutoff will remain available on disc. Sid Shuman, a senior director at Sony, described the change as a response to shifting consumer preference, though Circana data shows 82% of PS5 consoles sold were disc-drive models.

The poll numbers should be read with caution. Push Square ran an opt-in reader poll, not a random sample of PlayStation owners, and the site itself notes the results represent its most engaged readers rather than the mainstream install base. Its audience skews toward the enthusiasts most likely to object to the disc decision.

Physical games and value drive the shift

Another 15% of respondents said they have already switched to PC, 10% said they play on both platforms, and 7% said they had thought about leaving but did not expect to follow through.

Asked why they would leave, 41% cited Sony's decision to stop manufacturing physical games. Respondents also pointed to better long-term ownership, rising console prices, performance and upgrade flexibility, and a larger game library.

Push Square reported that many commenters made a blunter argument: if an all-digital future is unavoidable, they would rather be on Steam, which has a stronger storefront and refund policy than the PlayStation Store.

The competitive picture has also changed. Sony has brought more first-party titles to PC, weakening the case for platform exclusivity, and storefronts including Steam, GOG, the Epic Games Store, Humble Bundle and Fanatical compete on price.

PS6 pricing remains a concern

The survey also tested reactions to a PS6 priced at $1,000, a figure analysts increasingly see as plausible given rising memory costs. At that price, 29% said they would build or buy a gaming PC instead and another 29% said they would stay on their current console. Just 14% said they would buy at launch, and 15% said they would wait for a price cut.

Hardware is already more expensive. Sony raised the price of the disc-edition PS5 to $649.99 from $549.99 in April.

The poll does not represent PlayStation's full user base, which runs to tens of millions of consoles. It does suggest that pricing, digital-only distribution and thinning exclusivity are converging into a trust problem for Sony well before the next console is announced.