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Florida Hemp Businesses Hope Trump Can Save Them From Planned Federal Ban On THC Products
“The category’s too big to fail. The consumer demand is there. The infrastructure is in place. I don’t think that it’s going anywhere. It’s a matter of when and how we get regulated.” By Mitch Perry, Florida Phoenix On Saturday, St. Petersburg retailer Herban Flow hosted its third High and Dry Festival, which featured dozens […]
Valve warns memory crisis is getting worse, retail prices lag bulk supply by up to six months
Valve says manufacturers are seeing component conditions that have not yet reached store shelves. The retail impact may arrive within three to six months.
Commentary: Charleston didn’t just lose a store; it lost a leader
When news broke that Sechey was closing its King Street location, many saw it as just a retail story. It’s not. Charleston didn’t simply lose a storefront. It lost one of its entrepreneurial leaders.
Walmart names Kinnard to replace departing US COO Shanahan, memo shows
Kieran Shanahan, chief operating officer of Walmart's U.S. operations, is leaving the retailer and will be replaced by the company's international division COO, Kyle Kinnard, an internal memo showed on Friday, amid a major management rejig under CEO John Furner.
Industrial projects set the stage for future retail development in Ascension
Industrial investment is fueling commercial real estate growth in Ascension Parish as developers and retailers prepare for continued population and job expansion, Ascension Business Report writes. According to Charlie Colvin, president of Momentum Commercial Real Estate, major projects such as CF Industries and Hyundai’s investments are bringing new workers to the area, which is increasing […]
Amazon nears deal for vertical warehouse next to Goose Island
It's a move that would bolster the online retail giant's local network of distribution centers with a big new hub close to downtown.
West Valley reinvents itself as entertainment destination
The West Valley is transforming into Arizona’s newest entertainment destination with major investments in dining, retail and attractions.
Ermanno Scervino CEO on Retail Expansion, Strong U.S. Business, Eyeing Menswear
Toni Scervino discussed the potential of the brand following the opening of stores in key destinations, such as Los Angeles and Beijing.
Retail sales up a modest 0.2% in June amid economic uncertainty and fading benefits from tax refunds
NEW YORK (AP) — Shoppers slowed their spending in June from May as amid continuing economic uncertainty and fading benefits from generous government tax refunds. Retail sales rose 0.2% in June…
Retail sales up a modest 0.2% in June amid economic uncertainty and fading benefits from tax refunds
Shoppers slowed their spending in June from May amid continuing economic uncertainty and fading benefits from generous government tax refunds.
IKEA closes more plan and order point locations amid business shift
The retailer's closures span Charlotte, Austin, Memphis and Southlake as it reshapes how Americans shop for furniture.
San Util Design gears up for move to Washington, announces business model changes
This article ran in the June issue of Bicycle Retailer & Industry NewsWINTER PARK, Colo. — San Util Design, a company that handcrafts bags and gear for backcountry travel, bikepacking, and mountain biking, is moving operations from Colorado to Bellingham, Washington. The move, which was planned for the end of June, coincides with changes to San Util’s business model.
Delaware Rolls Out Self-Service Sports Betting Kiosks Statewide
Delaware has installed self-service sports betting kiosks at all 89 Sports Lottery retailers and its three casinos, adding prop bets, parlays and live wagering.
This week in Santa Cruz County business: Diving into the 2026 county workforce report; downtown development signs first retail client
Jessica M. Pasko crunches the latest county jobs numbers, notes Bookie's Pizza's impending move to a new Pacific Avenue development and highlights other local comings and goings in her latest business roundup.
Beloved Olmsted Falls toy store closing, will move most of its business online
As national retailer Toys "R" Us continues its resurgence, including a location at Crocker Park in Westlake, a local toy shop owner plans to shutter her store at the end of August.
Watch Eternal Founder Goyal Bets on Health Tech, Aerospace
India's quick commerce billionaire Deepinder Goyal is planning to launch his first product after stepping back from the empire he led for 18 years. Goyal says Temple, a wearable device worn on the side of the forehead, will retail for about one-thousand U-S dollars. The founder of Eternal Limited, which counts quick delivery apps Zomato and Blinkit under its umbrella, spoke with Bloomberg's Haslinda Amin in an exclusive interview at his private residence in New Delhi.
Why the $9.99 price tag still rules retail
The $9.99 price point remains a powerful strategy because many consumers perceive products under $10 as noticeably more affordable than those priced at $10 or higher, even though the difference is only a penny, The Wall Street Journal reports. Companies are increasingly struggling to maintain these prices due to rising costs from inflation, fuel, tariffs […]
Meet Des Moines Register retail business reporter Israel Schuman
Des Moines Register retail business reporter Israel Schuman is a Purdue Boilermaker who moved to the Hawkeye State.
German retailers warn of worsening business conditions as costs rise
German retailers are facing worsening business conditions as rising energy, labour and purchasing costs squeeze profits while sales remain weak, the German Retail Association (HDE) said on Tuesday, urging the government to act quickly.
The Independent Retailer Built on Prioritising Black Buying Power
James Whitner’s multibrand business, which includes stores like A Ma Maniére and Social Status, is manoeuvring through a tough retail environment by serving Black communities that fashion has traditionally overlooked.
Mountain Brook city council approves new home-based business ordinance
Tutors, music instructors, and athletic coaches will be limited to two students at a time, while animal boarding and retail sales will be banned.
See the newest businesses registered in Fresno County
Restaurants, retail shops, health care providers and service businesses headline the latest new business registrations across Fresno County.
The Quintessential Trump-era Politician
In 2020, I wrote an article about collaboration and collaborators. The title was History Will Judge the Complicit, and it started with the story of two famous East Germans, Markus Wolf and Wolfgang Leonhard, who both landed in East Berlin just after the end of the war. Although they came from very similar backgrounds, the former stuck with the regime, eventually becoming its spy boss; the latter, horrified by the brutal reality of Soviet-style communism, escaped. By way of juxtaposition, I also wrote about Lyndsey Graham and Mitt Romney. These two men also made very different decisions when confronted by Donald Trump’s assault on the ideals that they had both grown up believing: A glance at their biographies would not have led many to predict what happened next. On paper, Graham would have seemed, in 2016, like the man with deeper ties to the military, to the rule of law, and to an old-fashioned idea of American patriotism and American responsibility in the world. Romney, by contrast, with his shifts between the center and the right, with his multiple careers in business and politics, would have seemed less deeply attached to those same old-fashioned patriotic ideals. Most of us register soldiers as loyal patriots, and management consultants as self-interested. We assume people from small towns in South Carolina are more likely to resist political pressure than people who have lived in many places. Intuitively, we think that loyalty to a particular place implies loyalty to a set of values. But in this case the clichés were wrong. It was Graham who made excuses for Trump’s abuse of power. It was Graham—a JAG Corps lawyer—who downplayed the evidence that the president had attempted to manipulate foreign courts and blackmail a foreign leader into launching a phony investigation into a political rival. It was Graham who abandoned his own stated support for bipartisanship and instead pushed for a hyperpartisan Senate Judiciary Committee investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden’s son. It was Graham who played golf with Trump, who made excuses for him on television, who supported the president even as he slowly destroyed the American alliances—with Europeans, with the Kurds—that Graham had defended all his life. By contrast, it was Romney who, in February, became the only Republican senator to break ranks with his colleagues, voting to impeach the president. “Corrupting an election to keep oneself in office,” he said, is “perhaps the most abusive and destructive violation of one’s oath of office that I can imagine.” In the wake of Graham’s unexpected death on Saturday, I wrote about him again. He was, in many ways, the quintessential politician of Trump’s Washington, a man who shifted 180 degrees. Graham had been a fervent American patriot, proud reserve officer and military lawyer; he became one of the most important defenders of a president who believes soldiers are “suckers and losers” and shows no respect for law of any kind. As his politics changed, his language grew coarser and his behavior grew worse: He urged Israel to “level the place” in Gaza, and insulted the Danish prime minister in Munich, prompting a colleague, Senator Elissa Slotkin, to issue an apology. Here’s an excerpt from the article, which you can read in The Atlantic (gift link here) Like his close friend John McCain, Graham believed that America should stand at the center of a broad democratic alliance. The few times I met him were in that context, at the Munich Security Conference or at other European-American gatherings, which he once attended with great regularity. He also took seriously the practice of American democracy at home. In a 2014 conversation with The Atlantic, he described himself as a pragmatic politician who eschewed populist slogans. “I know Washington is broken, but what’s broken about it is everybody yelling and nobody trying to fix it,” he said. “I’m trying.” When Donald Trump first appeared in U.S. politics, Graham recognized him immediately for what he was: the spokesman for an alien ideology, one radically different from the idealistic patriotism that Graham had practiced and preached since childhood. Trump privately mocked the military that Graham loved as nothing but “suckers and losers.” He put falsehoods, cynicism, and personal greed at the center of his politics, while expressing disdain for transparency, accountability, and democracy itself. In 2015, Graham described Trump as a “race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot” who should “go to hell.” Also as a “nutjob.” When Trump won, Graham understood, as did so many others, that he would have to make some important choices. For a while, he went silent. In the spring of 2016, I saw him at one of those conferences in Europe. He seemed too depressed to speak. But then, like many other Republicans—and, more important, like many other people who have lived under political occupation or experienced radical regime change—he made the decision to abandon his previous ideals, to bury the patriotism that was once so important to him, and to become, instead, a loud, opportunistic collaborator. As I wrote in 2020, it’s very hard to look in to anyone’s heart and to understand their motivations from the outside. But it does seem that Graham had a deep need to be relevant, to be in the game, to be a player, at any cost. And that, rather than any particular achievement, is what he will be remembered for. Continuing to monitor conflicts of interest, ostentatious emoluments, outright corruption and policy changes that will facilitate outright corruption. (Read my original article, Kleptocracy Inc and check out the SNF Agora Institute chart) June 27 Trump diverted funds from more than 900 projects nationwide—including safety upgrades at national parks—to finance beautification projects around Washington, including $700,000 used to fix a White House walkway. June 28 After a years-long Department of Justice investigation into Abbott Laboratories over its management of a baby formula facility where potentially deadly bacteria turned up enough evidence to criminally charge the firm, top department officials instead opted for a financial penalty—illustrating the department’s move away from strict corporate enforcement under the Trump administration. June 29 Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stacked the Defense Policy Board—which is charged with providing independent national security recommendations to the Office of the Secretary of Defense—with Trump allies, including tech billionaire Marc Andreessen, who has invested in defense contractors like OpenAI and SpaceX, after purging the panel last year. Trump purchased between $1 million and $5 million worth of stock in Axon—which makes about 90% of US tasers—two weeks before ICE solicited bids for a $220 million taser contract. The White House unveiled limited-edition US passports for America’s 250th birthday, featuring a portrait of Trump overlaid on the Declaration of Independence. June 30 Trump made around $1.2 billion from his various crypto companies last year, including more than $500 million from World Liberty Financial and $600 million from sales of his meme coin. Trump is considering issuing 250 pardons to commemorate America’s 250th birthday. These are expected to be largely doled out through the Office of the Pardon Attorney’s informal network of intermediaries. White-collar defense attorneys say they can typically win pardons for clients for $2 million. Last year, Trump administration officials awarded a no-bid contract worth up to $500 million to Clark Construction for the White House ballroom—negotiations in which the president was directly involved. July 1 The Amazon MGM Studios documentary about Melania Trump earned the First Lady more than $10 million. Trump made hundreds of individual stock purchases worth as much as $12.8 million the day before his announcement pausing “Liberation Day” tariffs for 90 days sent the S&P 500 soaring nearly 10%—one of the largest single-day gains ever. Mar-a-Lago and Trump National Doral saw record surges in revenue during Trump’s first year in office, earning $77.5 million and $121.9 million respectively, compared to average annual revenues of $25 million and $75 million during Trump’s first term. Entities across the Persian Gulf paid more than $300 million to Trump’s businesses last year, including $263 million from the sale of half his stake in World Liberty Financial to a firm backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a top UAE royal and brother of the country’s president. Kash Patel failed to properly disclose his stock purchase of a Department of Justice contractor, MicroStrategy, worth up to $250,000 last year, despite laws requiring disclosure within 45 days of the trade. July 2 Trump has been directing administration officials to steer more government contracts—so far worth more than $2.4 billion—to Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin aerospace firm, after Amazon gave $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund, donated to the White House ballroom project, and reached a $40 million deal to license a Melania Trump documentary. Alongside the billions he made from cryptocurrency last year, Trump earned millions of dollars from real estate licensing fees, including $21 million from organizations in the UAE and $9.2 million in Saudi Arabia, along with smaller sums from merchandise sales, including $4.7 million from Trump Watches and $35,920 from 45 Guitar, a guitar brand endorsed by the president. House Democrats accused consultants tied to the Trump administration of financial fraud, alleging they gave prospective donors to America250—the bipartisan committee created by Congress to celebrate the nation’s semiquincentennial—the banking and routing numbers for Freedom 250, the White House’s fund for events like the UFC cage fight. Democrats also allege that Freedom 250’s CEO traveled to the World Economic Forum in Davos to solicit donations from foreign government officials and business leaders. The Trump administration’s proposed rollback of gun regulations would lift the prohibition on mailing handguns to individuals, a significant win for GrabAGun—the direct-to-consumer firearm retailer on whose board Donald Trump Jr. sits and in which he holds a 1.1% ownership stake. GrabAGun currently must rely on a middleman to transfer firearms to customers. Trump’s financial disclosure revealed that he made more than 21,000 securities trades during his first year back in office, growing his investment account to at least $858 million across stakes in around 1,600 companies, compared to the 13 total trades Joe Biden made during his entire presidency. July 4 Nearly 1 million people who bought the president’s meme coin—Trump Coin—collectively lost $3.8 billion on the token, while he walked away with $636 million. July 6 Shares of Dell closed up 4.4% after Trump recommended people buy the firm’s computers during a speech announcing the launch of Trump investment accounts for children, boosting the more than $1 million worth of shares the president owns in the company. July 9 Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh named crypto investor and Trump ally Marc Andreessen to a task force aimed at modernizing the Federal Reserve, including rethinking its approach to inflation—a key factor keeping interest rates elevated. Palm Beach International Airport has officially changed its name to Trump International Airport—a move that will require Florida to pay royalties to the president’s family for licensing his name. I was there a few months ago, during a trip to Barcelona. The sculptures were a revelation, I’d never seen so many together before. Each one has its own personality. Enjoy the good weather, if you are lucky enough to have it. History Will Judge the Complicit The Quintessential Politician Autocracy Inc Open Letters, from Anne Applebaum is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe
Almost every Google Pixel 11 model appears on FCC website
Following a pretty big retail leak, the Pixel 11 series appears in listings on the FCC’s website as Google’s launch...
This popular makeup brand is closing its only Seattle store
The beauty brand confirmed doors would close in January, and the firm that owns the property says it’s already seeing interest in the retail location.
From Brooklyn to the Biggest Names in Sports and Entertainment: Mitch Gould's Quintessential American Success Story
The creator of the Evolution of Distribution® who built Amazon's sports nutrition category from ground zero and placed brands with America's largest retailers, including Walmart, Costco, CVS, and Walgreens. BOCA RATON, FL / ACCESS Newswire / July ...
Mastercard Considers Selling Vocalink UK Payments Business
Mastercard is reportedly considering a sale of its U.K. retail payments business Vocalink. That's according to a report Monday (July 13) from the
‘Removing discs doesn’t represent progress’: UK retail group condemns PlayStation decision to stop making discs
It says Sony’s plan is “a triumph of corporate convenience over consumer choice”…
Shein Targets Over $40 Billion Valuation After China Nod for IPO
The fast-fashion retailer has received China’s nod for its long-awaited Hong Kong initial public offering, after its efforts to go public in the U.S. and London faced geopolitical and regulatory hurdles.
Big-Box Retailers Have a New Strategy for Breaking Into Urban Markets
With their thirst for cheap, sprawling land, big-box retailers usually operate in the suburbs or on the outskirts of town. But in recent years, some have been ditching the traditional model of massive warehouses and vast parking lots in favor...
Apple plans new Apple pencils, expands iPhone tap to pay in stores: Report
Apple is reportedly planning new Apple Pencils with replaceable batteries while expanding iPhone-based Tap to Pay across its retail stores.
Big-Box Retailers Have a New Strategy for Breaking Into Urban Markets
As more states and municipalities continue their push to build affordable housing, companies like Costco and Target are riding along and getting their stores into crowded cities.
What SoundHound AI (SOUN)'s S-4 Business Combination and Platform Expansion Means For Shareholders
In recent days, SoundHound AI, Inc. filed an S-4 registration statement for a planned business combination and confirmed strong year-over-year revenue growth alongside ongoing quarterly losses and a solid cash balance with no debt. At the same time, the company is pushing beyond its automotive roots into a broader enterprise AI platform, using acquisitions and subscription services to expand use cases across restaurants, healthcare, retail, financial services, and telecom. We’ll now examine...
$100M retail, aquatic center opens, Trader Joe dreams. June business news
These were the most read Tri-Cities business stories in June.
New restaurants and businesses are in the works or expanding in popular downtown area in CT town
The city center is full of activity with multiple businesses at different stages joining the already impressive retail stores and restaurants.
Alcoa business growth along Tesla Boulevard draws more restaurants, retailers to former industrial site
Businesses continue to open along Tesla Boulevard in Alcoa, and city officials say the development is the result of decades of planning on land that once housed an industrial plant.
Businesses claim a California bill is a threat to discount programs. Is it?
Retailers — including groceries, gas, restaurants and clothing — are pushing back against a measure to prevent businesses from offering different prices based on personal data.
Rochester sports teams eager for ‘One Rochester’ multi-use district concept near Silver Lake
A Wisconsin developer has unveiled a concept for a large mixed-use district near Silver Lake in Rochester, with plans that could include a ballpark, retail space and housing on the site of the power plant.
Wayfair built its business online. Now it’s betting on massive stores.
With flagships in Chicago, Atlanta and Columbus, retailer Wayfair eyeing national expansion — but not yet in Michigan.
Costco hit with lawsuit alleging protein powder sold in stores contains 'dangerous' levels of lead, arsenic
Costco is facing a class action lawsuit alleging Orgain protein powders sold by the retailer contain elevated levels of lead, arsenic and cadmium.
Virginia cannabis budget language triggers legal confusion, political fallout
Virginia’s decision to revive legal cannabis sales through the state budget instead of standalone legislation has triggered several days of confusion over the commonwealth’s marijuana laws, with lawmakers, local prosecutors, Virginia State Police and legislative officials offering differing interpretations of when key provisions take effect. Much of the confusion focused on two issues: whether Virginia’s long-delayed retail cannabis market had accidentally been moved up by a year and whether existing criminal penalties for marijuana possession and distribution involving people younger than 21 were still enforceable.
Last Call: M5 Pro MacBook Pro Remains at Pre-Hike Price But Not for Much Longer
It's been a few weeks since Apple announced widespread price hikes across numerous product categories, including the 2026 MacBook Pro. These new prices are now reaching third party retailers, but there remains one exception at Best Buy, which still has one model of the 14-inch M5 Pro MacBook Pro at its pre-hike price. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Best Buy. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
Games are almost always cheaper in shops, says new report, just as Sony announces an end to PlayStation discs and brings retailers' futures into question
Why are people angry at Sony's decision to stop making PlayStation game discs? Well, the price of games, for one thing.
Costco quietly discontinues award-winning Kirkland item fans call 'one of the best' in the market
Costco shoppers will soon have to say goodbye to two popular Kirkland Signature beers as the retailer's partnership with Deschutes Brewery comes to an end.
Over 220,000 People Petition Sony Not To Kill Physical PlayStation Game Discs
Canadian retailer PNP Games has started the Don't Kill the Disc position to change Sony's mind.
Ubisoft bringing The Crew Motorfest to Nintendo Switch 2
The Crew Motorfest is receiving a new version for Nintendo Switch 2, according to retailer listings. The game will be out on October 8, 2026. The Crew Motorfest originally released in 2023, but is still going strong today with new seasons. The open world driving game lets players explore the island of O’ahu in Hawaii and participate in Motorfest, an...
News | Former Macy’s in downtown Brooklyn to become entertainment hub
Developers pitch BKX as largest contiguous retail space available in New York
Another big premium hike on the horizon
FDA's crackdown on online ketamine retailers, unprecedented health care premium hikes, and more health news from Morning Rounds
HSBC opens review of Turkish retail and business banking operations
The assessment does not cover wholesale banking operations, including investment banking.
"Knockoff" browser add-on filters junk brands from Amazon results
Knockoff is "Amazon, without the knockoffs": a browser extension for Chrome that filters out the gibberish factory brands that are typically favoried over quality products in the online retailer's search…
Iconic Cowboy Maloney's acquired by O'Shaughnessy Holding Company
After 74 years of family ownership, the iconic Mississippi retailer Cowboy Maloney's has been sold to a new firm.
Roundup: Walmart pricing / Recovery from Arthur / Turner Industries
Value-focused strategy: Walmart is lowering prices on thousands of items, including beef, Coca-Cola, produce and household goods, to help shoppers facing high food costs. The retailer says the cuts are part of its value-focused strategy, especially as grocery inflation remains a concern. President Donald Trump praised the move, though Walmart did not say the price […]
HSBC reviews Turkish banking business for possible sale
HSBC said on Tuesday it had launched a review of its Turkish retail and corporate banking business and was considering all options, as part of its global drive to simplify its business and exit markets where it considers itself too small.
The Hub at Nocatee plans to combine retail, dining and entertainment
Tampa-based Center Connect Development has two similar concepts in the state, but the Hub at Brooklyn is not one of them.
On the California Coast, a Picture-Perfect City Falls on Hard Times
Santa Monica is starting to bounce back from a state of “fiscal distress” including financial woes, declining international tourism and fading retail.
Lori Harvey Expands Business Empire With Gran Coramino Role
From modeling to chief creative advisor, Lori Harvey is helping shape Gran Coramino's female-focused next chapter after the tequila brand surpassed $200 million in retail sales.
NYC axes new rule on roll-down gates for businesses – after retailers already spent thousands
City lawmakers rolled back an obscure, decades-old law about storefront roll-down gates ahead of a looming enforcement deadline – but not before some retailers shelled out thousands of dollars in...
CVS Health Corporation (CVS) Shares Up Significantly After Jim Cramer Said He Was Looking For A Good Year
We recently published Jim Cramer’s Biggest Winners to Buy: Top 20 AI & Other Stocks He Got Right in 2026. CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS) is one of the stocks discussed by Jim Cramer. Pharmaceutical retailer CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS) has become one of Cramer’s top stocks in the sector. Throughout this year, the CNBC TV […]
Apple’s Strategy To Minimize iPhone 18 Pro Price Rise
As memory costs push the iPhone 18 Pro retail price upward, Apple can rely on services such as online backups and connected accessories to prevent premium users from moving to Android.
iPhone 18 Pro Strategy Tests Premium Brand Loyalty
As memory costs push the iPhone 18 Pro retail price upward, Apple can rely on services such as online backups and connected accessories to prevent premium users from moving to Android.
Beat the Apple Price Hikes: These MacBook Pro Deals Won't Last Long
Apple recently introduced major price hikes across a number of products, including Macs, iPads, and more. This week, Apple's newly increased prices have begun to hit third-party retailers like Amazon, but there are a few select MacBook Pro models that are retaining original prices, which now represent solid discounts on each device. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon.
Major retailers open for July 4: Here's where you can shop and eat on America's 250th birthday
Need last-minute July 4 essentials? See which major stores and restaurants are open, closed or have reduced hours in the United States.
Businesses on the move in Marin and Sonoma counties: July 2 report
Check out which companies are leasing and buying office, retail, industrial and residential development properties in Sonoma and Marin counties via the following deals.
Walmart goes nuclear in first-of-its-kind power deal for retail giant
The retail giant has signed its first nuclear power deal with Constellation for about 176 megawatts from the Dresden Clean Energy Center in Illinois.
RFK Master Plan proposes new housing, entertainment, park space around Commanders' stadium
D.C. officials released a draft of its RFK Master Plan, which maps out where new housing, recreation and retail developments will be featured around the future stadium of the NFL's Washington Com
Sony will cease production of discs for new PlayStation games in 2028
New games sold for PlayStation consoles will only be available digitally and won’t be sold on discs effective January 2028, Sony has announced. The move applies to all PlayStation games released from that point on, including those made by Sony and those released by third parties. The PlayStation group calls the change “a natural direction for Sony Interactive Entertainment to adapt to consumer trends as the general preference for digital media significantly outpaces physical discs,” according to a PlayStation blog post reviewed by Game File in advance of its publication. As movies, TV and music have shifted from physical media to an age of downloads and streaming, Sony’s move could speed the demise of physical media in a gaming. The industry has offered consumers games via cartridges, cassettes, floppy discs, CDs, DVDs and Blu-Rays across a 50-year stretch. Sony has been reporting to investors in recent years that PlayStation games have been increasingly purchased as downloads, not as discs. The most recent figures show nearly four in five purchases of full games for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 were purchased digitally in the past year. Stats like that may cause today’s news to carry an air of the inevitable. But Sony’s declaration for 2028 is still likely to produce a shock, as the biggest gaming platform on the planet that uses game discs leaves them behind. Discs going away, but the fate of game boxes is unknown Sony is committing to still selling games in physical retailers even after they drop discs in 2028. Just how those games will be sold—in boxes with codes inside, as cards marked with digital redemption codes—is unclear. Digital games will also continue to be sold in the online PlayStation Store. New games released for PlayStation consoles prior to January 2028 will be unaffected by the policy change, Sony says. That means the PS5 games of 2027, be they a new Madden, a new God of War, a new Call of Duty, a new Sly Cooper (one can dream?), would still potentially be offered on disc. PlayStation 6 implications Sony’s timeline for a transition to a no-disc era will also spin up more speculation about the timing and configuration of Sony’s next-generation console, the probable PlayStation 6. “This pretty much guarantees that PS6 won’t arrive until 2028 at the earliest,” Piers Harding-Rolls, senior games research analyst at Ampere Analysis tells Game File. Harding-Rolls also concludes from today’s news that “the base version of a PS6 will not include a physical media drive,” as Sony looks to keep costs down on the device. Sony itself is saying nothing about the PS6 today: not its timing, nor how it might or might not support internal or external disc drives in order to run disc-based PS4 and PS5 games, should the console be backwards compatible. The many signs this was coming Industry support for games being released on physical media has been waning. As has consumer interest in them. PC games effectively went all-digital years ago, thanks to the popularity of playing games through Steam and other digital storefronts. The Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdowns that kept much of the global population home helped shift shopping patterns toward downloads. Sony’s own data shows PlayStation game downloads being an uncommon consumer choice a decade ago and now becoming the norm. On consoles, physical media has been in such decline that Sony and Microsoft both launched their current gen Xbox Series and PS5 consoles in 2020 with cheaper versions that lacked disc drives. In early 2024, Phil Spencer, then head of Xbox, told me that ““[w]e ship games physically and digitally, and we’re really just following what the customers are doing.” He added that the game industry had become an outlier in still supporting disc-based entertainment, even as movies and TV have bailed on discs in favor of downloads and steaming: “Gaming consoles themselves have kind of become the last consumer electronic device that has a drive. And this is a real issue, just in terms of the number of manufacturers that are actually building drives and the cost associated with those. And when you think about cogs that we’re going to go put in a console—and as you have fewer suppliers and fewer buyers—the cost of the drive does have an impact.” Last year, the Nintendo’s Switch 2, which uses cartridges rather than discs, introduced the concept of game-key cards, which are physical media that contain no game, just a prompt for a download. Even disc-based games aren’t what they once were, now frequently containing just stubs of games rather than the whole thing. The website Does It Play has tested over 3000 games and found that, for example, that the disc version of this year’s hit 007: First Light, only contained the game’s first mission, with the rest needing to be downloaded. Beyond all that, last week brought the news that Grand Theft Auto VI, likely the biggest game launch this decade, will debut for PS5 and Xbox Series without a disc-based version. Today’s big news comes to you for free. Game File is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and ensure more of my work is possible, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe Discs helped define PlayStation However the trends in entertainment may be going, it is still remarkable to see PlayStation ditch discs given their importance in PlayStation history: In the late 1990s, the first PlayStation’s support for games on relatively cheap CD-ROMs instead of traditional game cartridges allowed the upstart console to outmaneuver cartridge-based systems from Nintendo and Sega, as it drove down game prices down in the process. (The cheaper disc format even prompted Final Fantasy VII maker Square to taunt Nintendo in a magazine ad, saying that if the game was “available on cartridge, it’d retail for around $1200.”) PlayStation devices often doubled as machines for watching movies and TV on the latest disc-based formats. In the late 2000s, for example, Sony’s pricy PS3 gained traction as a go-to device for playing then-novel Blu-Ray discs. In 2013, Sony effectively roasted the digital game-sharing restrictions proposed by rival Microsoft for its upcoming Xbox One console by showing how games could be shared for the then-upcoming PS4. In a 21-second clip that has over 20 million views on YouTube, one PlayStation executive simply handed a game box—presumably with disc inside—to another, who said “thanks.” Sony’s possible motivations The PlayStation announcement today cites “consumer preferences” and a shift away from discs among “the broader entertainment industry,” but does not delve into the decision-making process that brought Sony to this point. Sony is not discussing the economics of this move (I asked!), but there are a number of potential factors: Abandoning discs will spare Sony the cost of manufacturing and shipping them, which analysts and industry veterans I spoke to said could account for $1 or so of a game’s retail price. For first-party games, that’s direct savings for Sony, though the amount is limited by the winnowing percentage of people who were even buying the disc-based versions. For third-party games, Sony could pass the savings on to partners or just retain the better profit margin for themselves. As the 2024 comments from Phil Spencer alluded to, leaving discs behind could mean leaving disc-drives behind, allowing Sony to produce consoles more cheaply. Switching to digital-only for games could diminish the risks of copies of new games leaking. It would also seemingly make second-hand sales of used games impossible, pushing more people to buy their own copies of games. These economic benefits for Sony could be boons for the games industry overall, Ampere analyst Piers Harding-Rolls tells Game File. Among other things, it could free publishers and retailers from having to worry about securing an inventory of game discs when trying to sell games, he noted. “If there is a way to streamline the business of games retail, I generally think it’s a good thing for the industry as it removes unnecessary costs,” Harding-Rolls said. “This will help offset pressure on margins from other directions – development and staffing costs for example.” Should the industry shift from game boxes that contain discs to smaller, cheaper game cards, Harding-Rolls said, that reduces pressure on publishers and retailers. “The advantage of everything going digital for the industry is that sales can be tracked much more easily and there is less commercial risk for publishers wanting to continue selling via retail,” he said. The shift to no discs will also likely impact game development timelines, as developers will no longer face the same urgency to have a build ready to submit to PlayStation for the production of a disc, as industry experts noted around GTA VI’s no-disc news last week. Instead, projects may gain weeks of development time, in the event delivery deadlines for platform approval move closer to release date. Preservationists’ likely worries While millions of gamers have shifted to digital, there are still people who associate game discs—and only game discs—with actual ownership of PlayStation games. That portion of the gaming community spoke up last week about wanting to buy a version of GTA VI that they could hold in their hands, could lend to a friend and could potentially pop into a well-preserved PS5 console three decades from now and still see it run. Such gamers didn’t want to worry that they’d merely purchased a digital copy that could lose access to the game if, say, the company behind the game someday turns of the servers that transmit downloadable copies. Digital copies of games are inherently less long-lasting, because consumers aren’t actually buying a game (on a disc), just buying access to the game. The fine print in online gaming shops notes this, as does a recent law that went on the books in California in 2025. That lasw requires game publishers doing business in the state to refrain from words like “sell” when offering digital copies of games, unless they explicitly tell consumers that what’s being sold isn’t the game itself but a potentially revocable license to access it. A Sony spokesperson noted to Game File that “[w]ith all digital content, including games, movies, and music, players are purchasing a personal license for non-commercial use.” Regarding the fears of PlayStation games being lost to time in an all-digital era, the rep also noted that Sony remains “committed to delivering experiences from past generations to the new platforms our players are using.” They noted that PlayStation has used emulation and remasters to keep offering its classic games to modern gamers. It’s true that many consumers have become accustomed to not having physical copies of new music albums or movies, but the relative precariousness of digital copies of games is in fact being highlighted today by…. Sony’s other big announcement: the upcoming closure of the PS3 and PS Vita online stores Sony said today that it will be closing the online marketplaces for its PlayStation 3 console and PS Vita handheld in most countries in July 2027 (sooner elsewhere: August 2026 for the PS3 store Mexico, Honduras and Nicaragua; late 2026 for PS3 in other Latin American countries and the Middle East). “We know this news may be disappointing to PS3 and PS Vita players who hold a special place in their hearts for this generation of gaming,” Sony said in its announcement, saying the move “was not an easy decision for us to make.” Sony said that PS3 and Vita marketplaces “are no longer able” to support modern commerce systems, prompting a “need” to close the shops and focus on more modern PlayStation platform stores. The news may spark some deja vu. Sony announced back in March 2021 that it planned to take the PS3, Vita and PlayStation Portable marketplaces offline that summer. The move would have caused some 2,000 digital-only games to become unavailable for new purchasers, according to a VGC analysis at the time. Fans complained loudly. By April 2021, Sony walked back the PS3 and Vita shop closures, with then PlayStation boss Jim Ryan saying “it’s clear that we made the wrong decision here.” This time around, Sony is giving a longer notice period in most regions. The closure of those stores is still likely to cut off access to new purchases of digital-only PS3 and Vita games. The current PlayStation 5 marketplace sells PS5 and PS4 games, as well as a selection of PS1 and PS2 games. It does not sell PS3 games, because games for that platform can’t run on the system (some are offered via a PlayStation Plus streaming option). Vita games also aren’t sold via PS5. Sony says digitally purchased PS3 and Vita games will be downloadable after the stores’ shutdowns “for the foreseeable future.” Sony’s move contrasts with Microsoft’s Xbox platform, which continues to sell and support games from all four Xbox console generations. But it puts it in line with Nintendo, which disabled purchases in the marketplace for its Wii console (a contemporary of the PS3) in 2019. Nintendo discontinued purchases in the online shop for its 3DS portable (a contemporary of the Vita) in 2023. The big questions about Sony’s 2028 post-disc era Will Microsoft follow suit, ending support for new disc-based games on Xbox platforms and therefore all game consoles, too? Whether Microsoft does or not, will third-parties that can no longer release games on discs for PlayStation, simply ditch the disc options across the board? Given the GTA VI no-disc experiment launching this November, will more game publishers decide to forgo disc-based offerings even in 2027? How will no-disc PS5/6 games be packaged and sold in brick-and-mortar retail stores? What becomes of game sharing in an all-digital era? Will Sony modify its current set-up, which currently allows some sharing of digital games across a pair of consoles, to allow more casual lending? (See for example, Nintendo’s year-old system of letting players lend a digital game to another player in a “family group” for up to 14 days.) Will there be a version of a PS6 with a disc drive? Or will a drive be offered as an add-on? And how will gamers who want to retain access to PS4/PS5 disc-based games react to whichever configurations Sony chooses to offer? What will the final disc-based PlayStation game be?
Physical disc production ending in January 2028 for new games releasing on PlayStation consoles
In response to shifting trends in consumer preference, new games will be released on PlayStation Store and at retailers in digital formats only.
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