On July 7, 2026, Sony announced on X (formerly Twitter) that it would stop manufacturing PlayStation physical discs in 2028 and end the PS3 and Vita online stores the same year. The tweet had 166.6 million views, 64 thousand likes, and more than 100 thousand replies in 24 hours.
For reference, GTA 6 Trailer 1 has 125.5 million views and 1 million likes, and Trailer 2 has 160.6 million views and 895 thousand likes. Sony's tweet reached more users than GTA 6 trailers, but the engagement is significantly lower.
Angry views are still views
Sony's tweet reached 1 in every 2.6 thousand viewers in likes, while GTA 6 Trailer 1 reached 1 in every 125, and Trailer 2 — 1 in every 179. This means that user engagement with the GTA 6 trailers was twenty times higher than with Sony's announcement. Engagement equals interest; therefore, this metric reflects the relative popularity of the tweets.
Unlike positive reactions to the game trailers, users replied to Sony's message with disappointment and anger about the end of PlayStation physical discs. Most replies were gamers showing their collections of PlayStation discs to the universe, expressing their anger about the announcement. The number of replies proves that the tweet received much attention from the users. In addition, the ratio of replies to views indicates that the tweet was received quite negatively.
Announcement came at the wrong time
Sony's tweet was published a few months before the release of GTA 6, which will have its "physical" version of the game, too. The version will be a cardboard box with a unique code for downloading the game. Take-Two Interactive's CEO Strauss Zelnick stated in February that an all-digital version of GTA 6 was not the plan. However, Rockstar's actions speak louder than words. By announcing the "physical" discs for GTA 6, Rockstar demonstrated that, in its opinion, the physical version of the game is the disc with a code that can be downloaded only once.
Sony published the tweet, which confirmed the suspicions of many about the end of the era of PlayStation physical discs. This is a severe blow to PlayStation users who have invested significantly in the PlayStation ecosystem. Moreover, the publication came a few months before the release of GTA 6, which will move the gaming industry toward a fully digital platform. In other words, GTA 6 code disc will place the user in the same camp as Sony PlayStation users, who have invested in hardware that will soon cease to be supported.
Neither Sony nor Rockstar have responded to the backlash since the initial announcement.