Sony Retrains Disc Factory Staff Ahead of 2028 Digital Shift

Sony has started repurposing its largest PlayStation disc production facility in Thalgau, Austria, according to Salzburg ORF. The move comes ahead of the company's shift to digital-only releases for new PlayStation games from January 2028. Sony is retraining all 300 employees at the site. It has also invested €30 million (~$34.32M USD) in new technology to manufacture optical microlenses.

The Thalgau facility currently produces around 600K optical discs every day. These include Blu-rays, PlayStation games, and CDs. The site is also Sony Digital Audio Disc Corporation (DADC)'s headquarters.

It is effectively Sony's last wholly owned disc manufacturing facility after production was consolidated there in recent years.

Disc Production to Fall Sharply as Sony Expands Into Micro-Optics

President of Sony DADC International, Dietmar Tanzer, stated that PlayStation discs currently account for about half of the plant's production. That figure will drop significantly once new physical PlayStation releases end.

Tanzer explained that around 20% of the current volume comes from new orders, with total production expected to decline to roughly 10% by 2028.

Sony does not plan to cut jobs. Instead, employees have already been reassigned to test new production equipment. They will also receive extensive retraining before mass production of optical microlenses begins in 2027.

According to Sony DADC's Micro Optics division, the technology is designed to precisely direct light. One example is automotive lighting systems that project turn signals onto the road.

Investment Signals Sony has No Plans to Reverse Course

The restructuring shows Sony had been preparing for the end of physical PlayStation games well before its announcement. It also comes as the ‘Don't Kill the Disc’ campaign has gathered more than 30K signatures from supporters of physical media.

The move has also strengthened expectations that future PlayStation hardware will not include a built-in disc drive. Microsoft is reportedly pursuing a similar digital-first approach for its next-generation Xbox. Sony DADC has produced more than 26.4B optical discs since 1983.

With its flagship factory now shifting to a new business, Sony's physical media era is entering its final chapter.

Disclaimer: Sources used were machine-translated from German.