Sony's decision to stop releasing physical editions of all PlayStation games starting January 1, 2028 has sparked widespread discussion both inside and outside the gaming industry.
Gamers, analysts, developers, politicians and even representatives from unrelated industries have already shared their opinions. Now legendary game designer Hideo Kojima has also weighed in.
Despite his long-standing partnership with PlayStation, the creator of Metal Gear, Death Stranding and the upcoming OD did not hide his disappointment with Sony's decision.
«I am very saddened by this. I grew up with physical media, so I think it's really sad. These days I'm buying a lot of Blu-ray discs with movies, as well as CDs».
Kojima pointed out that purchasing digital content does not guarantee permanent ownership. He noted that movies, music and other digital media can already become unavailable in certain regions or disappear due to decisions made by rights holders.
The game designer also expressed concern about the industry's future, warning that games will eventually move entirely to cloud streaming services, leaving players without true ownership of what they purchase.
«Today you can still download data. But sooner or later games will move entirely to streaming services like Amazon or Netflix, and companies will decide whether you can access a particular game. In that world I won't truly own anything anymore. The data will exist somewhere on a company's servers, and my access to it will depend entirely on whether that company chooses to let me have it».
Kojima added that storing content under the control of private companies always creates the risk of losing access for commercial or political reasons.
«The fact that the original data doesn't belong to me but is owned by a private company means there will always be a risk that, for commercial or political reasons, it could remove access to that data. Then I would no longer be able to watch that movie or play that game. I believe this is where the video game industry is heading, and I'm afraid the same thing will eventually happen to movies as well».
He concluded by encouraging players to appreciate physical media while it is still available, arguing that the digital world is ultimately far more fragile.
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