"Father of PlayStation" Ken Kutaragi Backs Sony's Plan to End Discs, Calls Physical Media a "Metaphor" for Ownership (2026)

The man who created the PlayStation has weighed in on the most divisive decision in modern console gaming. Ken Kutaragi, the 76-year-old engineer known as the “Father of PlayStation,” told Video Games Chronicle this week that he understands why players are angry about Sony ending physical disc production, but he does not think continuing to make discs is economically reasonable.

Ken Kutaragi holding his Lifetime Achievement Award at the Game Developers Choice Awards 2014

Kutaragi spoke to VGC at the Game Republic New Horizons event in Middlesbrough, UK, where he also gave a keynote. The former Sony Computer Entertainment chairman and group CEO oversaw the creation of the PlayStation, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 before leaving Sony in 2007, and he has long predicted the end of physical media. As far back as 2006, he said he believed digital distribution would eventually remove the need for discs, or even hard drives, through online streaming.

The comments arrive in the wake of Sony’s announcement that physical game disc production for all new PlayStation games will be discontinued starting January 2028, a move the company announced on the PlayStation Blog on July 1, 2026 and attributed to shifting consumer preferences. Games already released on disc, and those arriving in disc format before January 2028, are unaffected. Sony described the shift as a natural direction for the company.

Kutaragi framed the attachment to discs as a question of how players think about ownership rather than a technical need. “I understand that physical discs have become a metaphor for ‘owning’ games. I really understand that mentality,” he told VGC. “But nobody thinks [physical media] is necessary for a networked device like a smartphone, for example, because people feel that they will keep their content. So it’s a mentality.”

He went further: “I really understand [why some people are upset], but I don’t think it’s economically reasonable. Maybe it’s a mentality issue.”

He also offered a theory about why Sony is going this way. Kutaragi pointed out that Sony Interactive Entertainment now has many people who have come from outside the traditional console business, including from streaming companies through Sony’s acquisition of the streaming service Gaikai, and suggested they may see PlayStation “as not just a game console, but also a content terminal.” That view, he said, is where the tension with dedicated players comes from. “Maybe that’s how those people are thinking. But this has caused some friction with game enthusiasts.”

That friction is real. Push Square reports that Sony’s social media posts continue to attract criticism over the move, with the slogan “No Disc, No Buy” appearing regularly in replies. Kutaragi stressed that his remarks were personal observations, not statements on Sony’s behalf.

The economic argument cuts both ways, though. GameSpot notes that Sony continues to sell millions of physical games annually, and that in some regions more than 50 percent of new PS5 game sales are still on disc. The digital shift is a bet that the trend line matters more than the current split.

Kutaragi did not stop at discs. Speaking to Levelup, he suggested the disc drive is merely the prelude to a bigger transformation, arguing that traditional home consoles as we know them could eventually disappear altogether. With machines “super expensive” in the current hardware market, he believes advances in cloud gaming and artificial intelligence may one day make dedicated boxes unnecessary. Earlier this month, in an interview with Japanese outlet 4Gamer, he also predicted that AI could let people generate their own entertainment by 2028 or 2029.

For players, the near term is what counts. New PlayStation releases go digital-only from January 2028, so anyone who wants a future-proof library should start thinking digitally, while collectors have until the cutoff to keep buying discs. Disc-drive models and the optional drive sold separately for the PS5 Pro remain the safest bets for existing physical collections, and it is worth checking compatibility guidance before planning which console to buy.

Sources: VGC | GameSpot | Push Square | theGeek.games

Axee Davies

Axee Davies is the founder of AxeeTech, publishing gaming guides, codes, and Windows how-tos since March 2013. A tech enthusiast for 13+ years — starting with smartphones and Android rooting — he now runs a site that puts out a new guide every day for Roblox players, traders, and Windows users. More about AxeeTech

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