{"id":155997,"date":"2026-07-08T15:32:46","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T23:32:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/07\/08\/the-end-of-physical-playstation-games-ownership-licenses-and-the-digital-backlash\/"},"modified":"2026-07-08T15:32:46","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T23:32:46","slug":"the-end-of-physical-playstation-games-ownership-licenses-and-the-digital-backlash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/07\/08\/the-end-of-physical-playstation-games-ownership-licenses-and-the-digital-backlash\/","title":{"rendered":"The End Of Physical PlayStation Games: Ownership, Licenses, And The Digital Backlash"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Recently, Sony announced that, starting in 2028, all PlayStation 5 games will be released only in digital formats. Users can purchase games either at the PlayStation store or at a third-party store. But games purchased from the latter will not include a physical disc or a cartridge. Instead, the box will contain a code that lets you download the game into your console\u2019s internal storage unit.<\/p>\n

There were signs that this was coming. Sony\u2019s most powerful gaming console, the PlayStation 5 Pro, does not include a CD drive although one can be purchased as an add-on<\/a>. Also, Nintendo toyed around<\/a> with the idea of selling digital games as well.<\/p>\n

And, at long last, Grand Theft Auto 6, the most anticipated game of the year likely to cause an economic recession during the first few weeks of its release, will be sold only digitally at $80. This is the highest price for a base game for the PS5 game to date.<\/p>\n

There was huge public backlash against this decision. Some businesses took the opportunity to make fun of Sony\u2019s decision. Restaurants announced digital-only food. Toy companies announced their switch to digital only starting this holiday shopping season.<\/p>\n

There seems to be discussion about the legal issues surrounding this move.<\/p>\n

The first and most discussed issue is the concern about ownership. When games were simpler, with no internet access, when someone purchased a game cartridge or CD, they could pretty much do whatever they wanted with them. Older games did not display and make you acknowledge the terms of service or end-user license agreements before playing.<\/p>\n

While most people would simply keep them and eventually put them in storage, some would sell or give them away. I can play games with my friends and enhance my gaming experience (my cynical friends call it cheating) and the most my friends can do is go home. Similarly, I can use a third-party device to alter the game (like the Game Genie or Gameshark) and console manufacturers couldn\u2019t do a damn thing about it, at least to me. This gave many people the impression that they owned the game they purchased.<\/p>\n

As games and game systems became more advanced with full internet access with larger and cheaper storage drives, digital downloads of games made it more convenient to get them compared to driving to the store. There are no cartridges or CD that could be broken or missing. If you purchase the game digitally through your PlayStation account, you can download them anytime you want. Repeat downloads may be more common when you have a large digital library but your console only has enough memory space to download a few of them.<\/p>\n

But when you purchase and download a digital game, you will not get ownership rights. Instead, you are given a non-transferable license to play the game. You cannot sell the digital game to a third-party, even under the first-sale doctrine because this doctrine does not apply to licenses.<\/p>\n

As a result of being unable to sell digital games, small, independent gaming retail stores may be in danger. Usually these stores resell older games that were sold to them. Sellers would get some of their money back while buyers could get games they will be sick of later. With this lack of a secondary market, it will artificially raise prices of older, less popular games that have a lower market value.<\/p>\n

One more concern gamers have is the apocalypse scenario. Sony may one day trigger the kill switch and remove some \u2014 or even all \u2014 games from the PlayStation store, including games people bought.<\/p>\n

The reality is that video game companies like Sony, Nintendo, and Rockstar are giving their customers licenses to play their games, instead of ownership rights. They have legitimate reasons to switch to digital downloads only, such as saving money, preventing piracy, and limiting the production of paper and plastics used in the physical forms of games.<\/p>\n

But in light of the huge public backlash, they do so at their peril. With this and speculation that the future PlayStation 6 could exceed $1,000 and with developers likely to follow Rockstar\u2019s lead and normalize $80 base price games, players could seriously consider other options to kill their time. Including playing outside.<\/p>\n

\n

Steven Chung is a tax attorney in Los Angeles, California. He helps people with basic tax planning and resolve tax disputes. He is also sympathetic to people with large student loans. He can be reached via email at\u00a0stevenchungatl@gmail.com. Or you can connect with him on Twitter (<\/em><\/strong>@stevenchung<\/em><\/strong><\/a>) and connect with him on\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>LinkedIn<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

The post The End Of Physical PlayStation Games: Ownership, Licenses, And The Digital Backlash<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Recently, Sony announced that, starting in 2028, all PlayStation 5 games will be released only in digital formats. Users can purchase games either at the PlayStation store or at a third-party store. But games purchased from the latter will not include a physical disc or a cartridge. Instead, the box will contain a code that lets you download the game into your console\u2019s internal storage unit.<\/p>\n

There were signs that this was coming. Sony\u2019s most powerful gaming console, the PlayStation 5 Pro, does not include a CD drive although one can be purchased as an add-on<\/a>. Also, Nintendo toyed around<\/a> with the idea of selling digital games as well.<\/p>\n

And, at long last, Grand Theft Auto 6, the most anticipated game of the year likely to cause an economic recession during the first few weeks of its release, will be sold only digitally at $80. This is the highest price for a base game for the PS5 game to date.<\/p>\n

There was huge public backlash against this decision. Some businesses took the opportunity to make fun of Sony\u2019s decision. Restaurants announced digital-only food. Toy companies announced their switch to digital only starting this holiday shopping season.<\/p>\n

There seems to be discussion about the legal issues surrounding this move.<\/p>\n

The first and most discussed issue is the concern about ownership. When games were simpler, with no internet access, when someone purchased a game cartridge or CD, they could pretty much do whatever they wanted with them. Older games did not display and make you acknowledge the terms of service or end-user license agreements before playing.<\/p>\n

While most people would simply keep them and eventually put them in storage, some would sell or give them away. I can play games with my friends and enhance my gaming experience (my cynical friends call it cheating) and the most my friends can do is go home. Similarly, I can use a third-party device to alter the game (like the Game Genie or Gameshark) and console manufacturers couldn\u2019t do a damn thing about it, at least to me. This gave many people the impression that they owned the game they purchased.<\/p>\n

As games and game systems became more advanced with full internet access with larger and cheaper storage drives, digital downloads of games made it more convenient to get them compared to driving to the store. There are no cartridges or CD that could be broken or missing. If you purchase the game digitally through your PlayStation account, you can download them anytime you want. Repeat downloads may be more common when you have a large digital library but your console only has enough memory space to download a few of them.<\/p>\n

But when you purchase and download a digital game, you will not get ownership rights. Instead, you are given a non-transferable license to play the game. You cannot sell the digital game to a third-party, even under the first-sale doctrine because this doctrine does not apply to licenses.<\/p>\n

As a result of being unable to sell digital games, small, independent gaming retail stores may be in danger. Usually these stores resell older games that were sold to them. Sellers would get some of their money back while buyers could get games they will be sick of later. With this lack of a secondary market, it will artificially raise prices of older, less popular games that have a lower market value.<\/p>\n

One more concern gamers have is the apocalypse scenario. Sony may one day trigger the kill switch and remove some \u2014 or even all \u2014 games from the PlayStation store, including games people bought.<\/p>\n

The reality is that video game companies like Sony, Nintendo, and Rockstar are giving their customers licenses to play their games, instead of ownership rights. They have legitimate reasons to switch to digital downloads only, such as saving money, preventing piracy, and limiting the production of paper and plastics used in the physical forms of games.<\/p>\n

But in light of the huge public backlash, they do so at their peril. With this and speculation that the future PlayStation 6 could exceed $1,000 and with developers likely to follow Rockstar\u2019s lead and normalize $80 base price games, players could seriously consider other options to kill their time. Including playing outside.<\/p>\n

\n

Steven Chung is a tax attorney in Los Angeles, California. He helps people with basic tax planning and resolve tax disputes. He is also sympathetic to people with large student loans. He can be reached via email at\u00a0[email\u00a0protected]<\/a>. Or you can connect with him on Twitter (<\/em><\/strong>@stevenchung<\/em><\/strong><\/a>) and connect with him on\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>LinkedIn<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Recently, Sony announced that, starting in 2028, all PlayStation 5 games will be released only in digital formats. Users can purchase games either at the PlayStation store or at a third-party store. But games purchased from the latter will not include a physical disc or a cartridge. Instead, the box will contain a code that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":155998,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-155997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Video-game-620x348-QXX2No.jpg?fit=620%2C348&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155997","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=155997"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155997\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/155998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=155997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=155997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=155997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}