SharpEmu and the State of PS5 Emulation in 2026

On July 1, 2026, Sony announced it would stop producing physical discs for all new PlayStation games starting January 2028 . The decision, framed as a response to consumer preference for digital media, means every new release after that date will only be available as a digital download or a retail box containing a digital code . For the emulation community, the timing is everything: without a physical disc, one of the longest-standing methods of game preservation — owning a drivable copy that can be dumped and emulated decades later — disappears entirely . The result has been a noticeable acceleration in PS5 emulator development, even if the projects themselves remain in their infancy .