Sony Moves Away From Physical Media as It Expands Its Digital-Only Strategy

Sony appears to be pulling back from physical media. A few months after announcing the end of physical disc production for games on PlayStation consoles, the company is reportedly winding down a key part of its high-end Blu-ray player business.

FlatPanelsHD reports that the Japanese blog Kunkoku says Sony is discontinuing its last remaining UHD Blu-ray player in Japan, the UBP-X700/K. Once that happens, the PlayStation 5 will be Sony’s only 4K Blu-ray player in the country. Sony has not issued a press release. Its online store does list the UBP-X700/K as “Out of stock. This item will not be restocked.”

Sony released the UBP-X700/K in May 2025. It became the company’s last stand-alone UHD Blu-ray player after the UBP-X800M2 was discontinued more than a year ago. The disc edition of the PlayStation 5 can play UHD Blu-ray discs, but it doesn’t support Dolby Vision, which improves HDR video. Sony will keep selling one standard Blu-ray player and one DVD player model.

Sony hasn’t said whether it will stop selling the UBP-X700/K in other regions. Its decisions in Japan generally come before changes elsewhere, so a worldwide discontinuation looks almost certain. When Sony stops selling the player, Panasonic will be the only major electronics brand still offering UHD Blu-ray players.

Ongoing controversy over Sony ditching physical media

The player news arrives a few months after Sony announced that, starting in 2028, it will stop producing physical discs for PlayStation. Fans reacted badly. Virtually all of PlayStation’s social media posts were filled with angry comments decrying the move.

For many people, the dispute is about ownership. When you “purchase” digital media, you usually don’t own it the way you own a disc. In most cases, you’re buying a license to access the content, not the media itself. Sony is currently in the middle of a lawsuit that aims to prove in court that players don’t own their digital games.

In June, Sony removed over 500 films from users’ PlayStation accounts, including Terminator 2, after a deal with rights holder StudioCanal expired. Game companies also regularly shut down old digital marketplaces, which makes it impossible to legally download games that were exclusive to those stores. Sony also recently changed its Crunchyroll Store, which sells physical anime Blu-rays. Only subscribers on higher membership tiers can now make purchases.

As media companies steer users toward streaming and digital purchases, physical media is turning into a niche space for hobbyists and collectors. Sony’s planned discontinuation of its 4K Blu-ray player is the latest sign of that shift.

Related reading: What PlayStation going fully digital tells us about the PS6.

Source: Polygon