Will ending PS5 discs actually lower game prices? A former Square Enix exec says yes — here’s why critics disagree

Sony's announcement in July 2026 that it will stop manufacturing physical discs for new PlayStation games starting January 2028 has ignited one of the most charged debates in modern gaming . At the center of the controversy is a provocative argument from Jacob Navok, former director of business development at Square Enix (2010–2015), who claims the move will actually lower game prices. But a wave of counter-evidence — from sales data to organized consumer backlash to a $457 million lawsuit — tells a more complicated story.

The Navok thesis: Two pillars for lower prices

Navok's argument rests on two main pillars, both grounded in the economics of game distribution .

The "missing money" problem. As Navok explained on social media, when a digital game sells for the same price as a physical disc, the publisher loses money on the physical copy to manufacturing, theft, defective units, and unsold inventory — costs that don't exist for digital copies. He calls this gap "missing" money that leaks from the publisher's bottom line . Eliminating disc production stops that leakage, making digital-only sales more profitable even at lower price points.

The Steam precedent. Navok points to PC gaming's dominant storefront as proof of concept. On Steam, the absence of a physical retail channel — and the retail-price anchoring that comes with it — has resulted in more aggressive pricing, deeper sales, and a market where base prices have trended downward over time . He argues that without physical discs anchoring price expectations, the PlayStation Store would face genuine competition on price among publishers, rather than competing against used-disc bargains .

Counterpoint 1: The sales data undercuts the savings argument

Navok's logic depends on the idea that eliminating physical production will generate meaningful savings. But the data suggests physical is already too small a share to matter much.

In Q1 fiscal 2026, 82% of full-game purchases on PS4 and PS5 were digital; physical was just 18% . Five years earlier, physical was roughly 34% . Circana data shows only seven PS5 games sold more than 100,000 physical copies in the entire first half of 2026 in the U.S. . If physical is already a tiny and shrinking share, the cost savings from eliminating it are marginal — and there is little evidence those savings have ever been passed to digital consumers. Sony's CFO Lin Tao acknowledged the move is expected to boost digital profitability, not lower consumer prices .

Counterpoint 2: Losing the used-disc market removes a real price floor

Perhaps the strongest counterpoint is what gets destroyed: the second-hand market. ArsTechnica's analysis found that five major PS5 titles on disc cost roughly $1,000 combined at retail, while the same games new on the PlayStation Store cost about double that figure . A separate analysis by Dutch site Tweakers found five major PS5 titles cost roughly $162 on disc at the best retail prices, versus about $320 on the PlayStation Store .

Eliminating the used-disc market removes a critical price-competition mechanism. CNBC reported that Sony's decision threatens an estimated $7 billion global second-hand gaming market — market pressure that has historically forced Sony to discount digital games to compete with physical bargains .

Counterpoint 3: Consumer backlash has been swift and organized

The "Don't Kill the Disc" petition on Change.org surpassed 200,000 signatures within weeks, eventually climbing past 330,000 . A planned boycott called "PSBlackout" was set for late August 2026, asking supporters to avoid logging into or purchasing from Sony's platforms . The backlash centers on game ownership — without a physical disc, consumers lose the right to trade, lend, resell, or truly own their games, and become wholly dependent on Sony's digital storefront .

Counterpoint 4: Multiple lawsuits argue the opposite of competition

The legal challenges are perhaps the most pointed rebuttal to Navok's thesis.

• Stop Killing Games movement joined a Dutch consumer group suing Sony for an estimated $457 million, arguing that Sony's walled-garden PlayStation Store constitutes an illegal monopoly over game distribution on its platform .
• Mexican lawmakers filed a proposed antitrust complaint over the same issue .
• A pre-existing Dutch consumer lawsuit over PlayStation Store pricing — originally filed in 2025 — gained renewed attention after the disc-phaseout announcement .

Critics argue that without physical discs as a competing distribution channel, Sony gains total pricing control — the opposite of the competitive dynamic Navok predicts. As former PlayStation executive Shawn Thornton noted, publishers ultimately set game prices, not Sony, and there is no guarantee that eliminating discs changes publisher pricing behavior .

The bottom line

Navok's argument rests on a genuine cost-efficiency logic that has worked on PC (Steam). However, the counter-evidence is substantial: physical sales are already too small to generate significant pass-through savings; the loss of the used-disc market eliminates a proven price floor; consumer backlash has been intense; and multiple lawsuits argue the move creates monopoly pricing power rather than competition. The historical record on PlayStation — where digital prices have remained sticky at $70 even as physical costs disappeared — offers little support for Navok's optimistic scenario .