Sony’s disc-free PlayStation plan could squeeze used-game bargains
Ars Technica found used PlayStation discs often beat regular digital prices, though store sales can undercut them during limited windows.
By Hana Yoshida · Markets Reporter
3 min read
Sony’s plan to stop making physical PlayStation discs in 2028 could remove one of the main ways players buy older games cheaply. Ars Technica reported that its price check of current PlayStation bestsellers found used discs often cost less than standard PlayStation Store downloads, even though digital sales can sometimes offer the lowest price.
Ars Technica said it reviewed 19 top-selling PlayStation games that were available both digitally and on disc. The outlet started with Sony’s PlayStation Store bestseller list, excluded games without physical editions, and compared PlayStation Store pricing with disc prices from Amazon, GameStop and eBay.
For digital pricing, Ars Technica used PlatPrices.com to track each game’s regular PlayStation Store price, its lowest sale price over the past year and how often that discount appeared. For used eBay pricing, the outlet averaged the last five completed sales for each game, including shipping.
Ars Technica said it also adjusted some comparisons to match content. In cases where a digital edition included downloadable content, the outlet added the cost of that content to the physical version; for some PS4 discs with PS5 upgrades, it added the price of the upgrade where one applied.
Used discs beat regular digital prices
The regular PlayStation Store price was the priciest option for 15 of the 19 games Ars Technica reviewed, including two cases where it was roughly tied for the highest price. The outlet said some older games, including Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, still carried $59.99 digital prices while used GameStop discs were listed at $9.99.
Ars Technica found that PlayStation Store sales changed the comparison. In its sample, sale prices cut regular digital prices by 40% to 80%, and discounted downloads were the cheapest option for 10 of the 19 games.
Those sales did not erase the value of used discs across the board, according to Ars Technica. Used discs were still the lowest-cost choice for seven of the 19 games, while two other games had disc prices roughly in line with the best digital sale price. The outlet cited Dark Souls III as one case where a used GameStop disc was $10 cheaper than the PlayStation Store’s $30 sale price.
Ars Technica also noted that players cannot count on the lowest digital price being available when they want to buy. In the games it reviewed, the best PlayStation Store discounts were available only 13% to 33% of the time over the past year.
Digital-only pricing may change
The end of physical PlayStation discs would also end resale for new PlayStation releases, Ars Technica said. A player who buys a disc can sell it later and recover part of the purchase price, while a digital purchase cannot be resold through the same kind of used market.
Ars Technica said used discs currently give PlayStation buyers an alternative that can put pressure on digital pricing. Without that option for future games, publishers may have less reason to offer steep download discounts, though the outlet also pointed to PC gaming as evidence that digital-only markets can still produce low prices and frequent sales.
The outlet said Steam’s pricing and sale culture, along with low-priced download-only PlayStation games, shows a disc-free market would not automatically force players into paying full prices. Still, Ars Technica concluded that the loss of used discs would remove a reliable low-cost option for PlayStation players who shop for bargains.
This story draws on original reporting from Ars Technica.