Assassin’s Creed Maker Says PlayStation Killing Discs Has Pluses

Three weeks have elapsed since Sony announced its plan to retire PlayStation discs by 2028, and the industry had been largely silent—until now. At the latest earnings call for the Assassin’s Creed franchise, Ubisoft’s leadership addressed the controversy, noting that while there are both advantages and disadvantages to abandoning physical media, the move is unlikely to unsettle the broader market.

When queried about the broader market implications of a discless future, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot highlighted that the PC sector has thrived thanks to digital distribution, citing notable market growth. He added that eliminating physical media could lower hardware costs, making consoles more accessible, and that the overall impact on the industry would be modest.

Guillemot’s argument rests on the success of fully digital storefronts such as Steam, which have propelled PC gaming to new heights. Ubisoft’s own Ubisoft Connect launcher serves a similar purpose, allowing the company to sidestep platform fees from giants like Valve and Sony—an approach that mirrors Sony’s rationale for phasing out discs.

By cutting out the middleman that sells physical copies, Sony can retain a larger share of the revenue on its PlayStation Store. For internally developed titles, such as Marvel’s Wolverine, the company stands to earn 100 % of digital sales, compared to the portion it receives from retail disc sales.

Industry analysts suggest that the escalating cost of components—particularly those driving up the price of the upcoming PlayStation 6—has pressured Sony to seek cost‑saving measures elsewhere.

Consumers are confronted with unmistakable drawbacks: the absence of true ownership, a decline in long‑term game preservation, and the collapse of a used‑game market that has historically helped keep prices reasonable. The torrent of angry messages from PlayStation fans flooding social media and video platforms indicates that the industry’s claim of minimal disruption may be overly optimistic.

How pivotal Ubisoft will be to Sony’s all‑digital future remains uncertain. The publisher is currently navigating a painful restructuring, marked by layoffs, budget cuts, and postponed development timelines. Although its quarterly earnings dipped nearly 10% year‑over‑year, the Assassin’s Creed Black Flag: Resynced remake has already outperformed the company’s full‑year sales projections, moving more than 3.5 million copies.