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Sony's FlexStrike PS5 Fight Stick Delayed Indefinitely, Now Launches After Marvel Tokon
Fight to make it right
Sony faces an anti-trust complaint in Mexico over ending PlayStation physical media
Sony's decision to kill PlayStation physical media has caught the ire of lawmakers in Mexico, who argue that could turn it into a monopoly.
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Former Sony Veteran On Digital vs. Disc Gaming and PlayStation Stars Failure
In this exclusive interview, we catch up with an 18-year SIE veteran about digital vs. disc gaming, and why PlayStation Stars failed.
The Death Of Physical Media And The Real Challenges To Software Archiving
Along with the many displays of outrage, gnashing of teeth and other displays of profound grief at the recent news that Sony will no longer manufacture physical game discs come 2028, we have also h…
Here Come the Lawsuits! Sony's Physical Disc Debacle Likely to Keep Its Lawyers Busy
Manufacturer already fighting multiple lawsuits
Stealth PlayStation 5 Feature Update Adds a Handy New Widget
Sony Interactive Entertainment has quietly dropped a new PS5 feature update that adds a handy new widget to the Welcome Hub.
‘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”…
The PlayStation physical games debacle is taking over everything Sony does — it’s the biggest tech PR disaster since Sonos’ app update, so will Sony learn the lessons that turned Sonos around?
PlayStation gamers are furious and they're making that plain on Sony's socials. Will Sony do a Sonos and eat humble pie?
Ex-PlayStation Boss Says Sony Ending Discs Is 'Kind Of Sad'
'I think there's probably a whole lot of financial analysis that went behind this decision'
EU admits it cannot stop Sony killing physical discs – "companies are free to offer games and services in the manner that they see fit"
The EU confirms it cannot stop Sony from scrapping physical discs, stating "companies are free to offer games and services in the manner that they see fit".
EU Says It's Powerless to Stop PlayStation From Killing Discs: 'Companies Are Free to Offer Games and Services in the Manner They See Fit'
As gamers sign online petitions and swarm upon each and every PlayStation social media post, the EU has said it’s powerless to actually stop Sony — and indeed any company — from killing discs.
Just Don’t Use the Super-Long Zoom on Sony’s RX10 V for Anything Creepy, Okay?
Your iPhone can't compare to this camera's built-in zoom.
Sony RX10 V Announced – 24-600mm ZEISS Zoom, AI Recognition AF, and 4K 120p Video
Sony RX10 V announced: 24-600mm ZEISS zoom, AI Recognition AF, and 4K 120p video.
Sony Launches $120 In-Ear Monitors For Pros
The IER-M500 earphones were designed for fit and comfort during stage wear.
‘Sony essentially destroys its own defense’: How its disc-free PS5 plan triggered a $457M lawsuit and undercut its antitrust defense
Sony’s move enraged thousands of gamers and brought on a lawsuit with the backdrop of rival Xbox’s restructuring amid video game industry challenges.
The Most Likely Return To ‘Destiny’ Is A ‘Destiny 1’ Remake
Destiny 2 is dead, but the most logical way for Destiny to live on would be in the form of a Sony-greenlit Destiny 1 remake.
Sony's RX10 V Superzoom Finally Arrives With A New Design And 4K 120p Video
Sony has finally unveiled the RX10 V superzoom with a 24-600mm zoom lens and 20.1-megapixel 1-inch sensor.
Sony’s Affordable New In-Ear Monitors Might Be Perfect for Beginners
Even if they're geared toward musicians.
Sony brings back the superzoom RX10 with a stacked sensor and a high price
New sensor and autofocus. Same old lens.
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.
Sony, Bungie settle with ex-Marathon director they accused of "predatory behaviour", bringing $200m wrongful dismissal lawsuit to a close
Former Marathon director Christopher Barrett departed Bungie in 2024, but filed a lawsuit after reports of inappropriate behaviour emerged.
Sony Settles With Fired Marathon Game Director Who Sued PlayStation and Bungie for More Than $200 Million, Adds Name to Credits
Sony has reached a settlement with former developer Christopher Barrett, who it had accused of sexual misconduct. As a result of the settlement, Barrett will be added to the credits of recently released extraction shooter Marathon.
Sony Settles With Fired Bungie Dev, Adds Him To Marathon Credits
Christopher Barratt had accused the PS5 maker of trying to avoid paying him vested bonuses from the studio's sale
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.
Niecey Shaw on entertainment headlines
Jermaine Dupri is said to be suing Sony, and Katie Couric recalls having memory loss after a medical episode.
'They Now Wait for This Storm to Pass' — PS5 Owners Are Cancelling PlayStation Plus Subscriptions to Protest Sony Killing Discs, but Analysts Say It Won't Make Any Difference
PS5 owners are cancelling PlayStation Plus subscriptions in protest at Sony's controversial decision to stop releasing games on physical discs — but the gesture will not force the console maker to change its mind, analysts say.
PlayStation users cancelling PS Plus are offered 50% discounts as petition to save physical discs passes 200,000 signatures
Sony confirmed that new PlayStation games will no longer receive disc production starting January 2028. The decision has triggered a petition and reports of PS Plus discounts during cancellation attempts.
Fans Canceling PS Plus To Boycott Sony Killing Discs Discover You Can Actually Save Money By Threatening To Quit
But wait, before you leave, here's a 50 percent off coupon...
50% PlayStation Plus discounts offered to fans canceling over end of physical games
Facing criticism over a shift to digital games, Sony has made an overture to discontented supporters. Gamers threatening to cancel subscriptions may receive a PlayStation Plus price cut. Some PS Plus Extra and Premium members have secured 3-12 months of service at steep discounts.
The petition against Sony's decision to kill PlayStation physical discs has over 170,000 signatures
Hundreds of thousands of people have made their feelings about Sony's decision to kill PlayStation discs very clear.
Sony leadership says AI tools are "an important foundational technology supporting our strategy"
"This is less about cost efficiency and more about improving quality and development speed"
"Don't Kill the Disc": Petition Against Sony PS5 and PS6 Digital Media Plans Reaches 120,000 Signatures
"We are not against digital. We are against digital being the only option."
Sony clarifies re-order support for existing PlayStation discs
Platform holder adds the process for ordering discs will change as it shifts to an all-digital future
Marvel Tokon Blocked in 132 Countries, and It Looks Like PSN Requirements Are to Blame
PlayStation and Arc System Works' Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls has been blocked in 132 countries in what appears to be another example of Sony's PSN requirements barring players from access on Steam.
Metal Gear Creator Responds To Sony Killing PlayStation Discs
The Death Stranding 2 director warns about a world without physical media
Sony announces major change to PlayStation games starting in 2028
Sony announced the news on Wednesday.
Gran Turismo 7 survey focuses on player progression
A Sony-issued survey about Gran Turismo 7’s player experience covers all topics, but seems heavily focused on progression systems.
Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls is blocked in 132 countries due to Sony's controversial PSN linking requirement – but its Steam page is still visible
Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls is blocked in 132 countries, once again due to Sony's controversial PSN linking requirements.
"I Almost Left Sony Over That One" - Meet The Unreleased PlayStation Pad With A PS1 Inside
"Sony licensing couldn't get their act together about the royalty terms"
Sony Underfire Yet Again for Blocking Marvel Tokon in 132 Countries on PC
One disaster to another
Sony's Marvel Tokon Blocked In Over 100 Countries On Steam
Unsurprisingly, these are the same 132 countries that were originally blocked from purchasing Helldivers 2 on Steam
I shopped Best Buy’s 4th of July sale to find the 10 best tech deals worth buying
4th of July deals on TVs, speakers, headphones and more are live at Best Buy through the end of the holiday weekend.
After Sony Kills PS5 Discs and GTA 6 is Just a Code in a Box, Xbox Is Using Halo: Campaign Evolved's Physical Disc as a Selling Point
Microsoft is using the fact that Halo: Campaign Evolved will offer a physical game disc in its box as a selling point.
"We are profoundly disappointed by Sony's decision" – Game companies express dismay at the end of PlayStation disc production
Atari, Iam8bit, Lost in Cult, and Silver Linings Interactive are among the firms lamenting the loss of physical games
Sony Already Invested $34 Million To Repurpose Its EU PlayStation Disc Factory
Sony is converting its PlayStation disc factory into a plant for optical microlenses.
Sony has already started repurposing its lone PlayStation disc factory, and the body of physical gaming isn't even cold
The Sony disc-making operation is already planning to retrain its 300 employees to make microlenses.
Sony’s PlayStation disc factory is already being repurposed
All 300 employees will be retrained, Sony says.
Upgrade Your Home Entertainment Experience and Save Big 45+ Fourth of July TV Deals
Shop unmissable Independence Day deals from big-name brands including Sony, LG and Samsung, with options starting at just $150.
Sony Discusses Potential Future PlayStation Plus Price Hikes
Sony says it continues to balance value and pricing for PlayStation Plus, addressing the possibility of future subscription increases.
"PS5 Will Be My Last Console": After 45K Votes, 86% of DF Viewers Say Sony Should Reconsider Killing Physical Games
That's just under 40,000 people writing in to oppose Sony's plans.
Report: Xbox Disc-to-Digital Feature in Testing, Microsoft "Likely" to Stop Disc Production Too
Both Sony and Microsoft look ready to drop disc drives from their next-gen consoles.
Sony is first console giant to stop making physical games
Move sparks angry response from some gamers
Bethesda Makes Clever Oblivion 'Physical' Post As Sony Scraps Discs
Bethesda Game Studios has made a post on social media that seems to be poking some kind of fun at Sony's recent PlayStation disc news.
Sony will stop making physical copies of PlayStation games in 2028
“We will own nothing, it's truly sad.”...
Sony to end physical PlayStation game discs for new releases starting in 2028
Sony says all new PlayStation games released after January 2028 will be sold digitally, reflecting changing consumer demand and the gaming industry's broader move away from physical media.
Sony says goodbye to discs for new PlayStation games in 2028
Sony said it will stop production of physical discs for PlayStation games in response to industry and consumer shifts.
Sony PlayStation Phasing Out Physical Video Game Discs
Sony PlayStation said it plans to end production of physical video game discs by January 2028.
Sony announces an end to the PS3 and Vita digital stores
The company describes it as "not an easy decision to make", and describes it as a resource allocation decision.
Sony is closing the PS3 and Vita digital stores
The virtual PS3 store will close in select markets this year, with global closures for PS3 and PS Vita following in 2027.
Sony Shutting Down PlayStation Store for New Purchases on PS3 and Vita
Sony has announced the closure of its PlayStation Store on the PS3 and Vita, beginning next month in certain countries.
Sony is killing all physical PlayStation game discs
New games released after January 2028 will be digital-only.
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?
The PlayStation Stores On PlayStation 3 And Vita Are Shutting Down
Starting this year and into 2027, Sony is sunsetting the digital storefront for two of its oldest online store platforms.
I Tried Sony's $260 Wearable AC. Here's Why I Turned Around Before Leaving the Block
Sony's Reon Pocket Pro Plus delivered on its promise of keeping me cool—but one major flaw made wearing it in public surprisingly difficult.
Sony’s Cooling Neck Device Is Coming to the US, and I Got a First Look
I spent a few days testing the Reon Pocket Pro Plus ahead of its US launch. Here's how it went.
'I Don't Know What They're Thinking': Ex-PlayStation Boss Weighs in on Sony's PC Port Backtracking
Porting is all about "mindshare"
No more selling PlayStation hardware at "significant" loss, says Sony, as everyone braces for a PS6 console that costs over $1,000
Sony is seemingly no longer interested in subsidising the cost of its hardware to reduce the price for the end user.
Sony Spurs $1,000 PlayStation 6 Rumors
Rumors of sky-high next-gen consoles have been floating around for about as long as the next-gen consoles have been confirmed as in development, but it seems as though Sony CEO, Hideaki Nishino has all but confirmed $900+ pricing for the PS6 in a recent Q&A session following an official Gaming & Net...
Netflix and Superheroes Are Having a Rough Stretch on Streaming....
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) I have a quick prediction before we start today’s article: You might see this data in future news articles. Not my specific charts or analysis, but the core trend I’ve been monitoring—Netflix is having a lackluster Q2—will become inescapable. Often, folks want to know “What does the data say?” Well, that’s what it says. I haven’t seen this analysis hit the trades really yet, but I have a feeling some other outlets are going to start making this case soon. Remember, you read it here first. You probably have read about the problems facing superhero films at the box office this weekend. Well, this week, I explore whether superheroes are dying on TV as well! And the data says: definitely maybe! We have a lot to cover in today’s Streaming Ratings Report, which covers the two weeks of 18-May and 25-May. Today, I’m just looking at TV, like Netflix’s disappointing Q2, superhero shows underwhelming, a few TV shows dropping off the charts, The Pitt finally ending its epic run on the viewership charts (and whether “view counts” change its status as one of the biggest shows of all time), all the flops, bombs and misses, and a whole lot more. Tomorrow, I’ve got a great rundown of the film side of things. Let’s dive right in! (Reminder: The streaming ratings report focuses on the U.S. market and compiles data from Nielsen’s weekly top ten viewership ranks, Luminate’s Top Ten Data, Showlabs, TV Time trend data, Samba TV household viewership, company datecdotes, Netflix hours viewed data, Google Trends, and IMDb to determine the most popular content. While most data points are current, Nielsen’s data covers the weeks of May 18th to May 31st, 2026. You can find a link to my terminology here.) Subscribe Television - Netflix’s Q2 Slump Continues Having analyzed streaming ratings for going on half a decade, I have learned to trust my gut, but I’m always relieved when I can find actual data to back it up. For example, after a string of very popular shows like Stranger Things, Bridgerton, The Lincoln Lawyer and The Night Agent came out, week after week, in January and February, my gut wondered if Netflix had enough new and returning TV shows to sustain them throughout the year. Since then, Netflix’s post-March slate of shows has not impressed me. This week seemed to feature a potential new hit, but then, like a classic Duffer Bros. TV show, there was a twist. I speak of The Boroughs, Netflix’s latest (and last) Duffer Bros. produced show. The pitch is “Stranger Things with older actors”. And it topped the Nielsen charts: With just two weeks of viewership, The Boroughs would have been a top 25 debut show last year: But here’s the twist: Netflix has already cancelled The Boroughs! What happened? Likely a few things. First, the show didn’t do as well globally as it did in the US. As What’s on Netflix showed, it lagged behind several other shows that got cancelled. Second, its completion rate was likely low; after an initial burst of interest, it quickly dropped off on the Samba TV and Luminate charts. Third, the Duffer Bros. left Netflix for Paramount, and that may have factored into Netflix’s decision here. (Though I tend to believe that if a show is doing well, Netflix would have kept greenlighting seasons.) Still, just because I can explain why Netflix may have cancelled this show doesn’t mean I’m justifying it. In particular, as I’ve noted before, Netflix is losing a lot of their bigger shows as they reach their natural ends, and they need to replace those shows. This show had the hallmarks of a big new genre show, and it’s their biggest hit of the last few months (in the US at least), but now it’s done. Netflix’s other show this week—The Four Seasons, the second season of the “hit” show from last year—definitely disappointed. Its sophomore season had about half the viewership of the first, only 12.7 million hours. It also only had a two week run on Samba TV, and its numbers were all down on Luminate too. In other words, even with two successes, the Q2 slump for Netflix looks real: I could add to the list of disappointments: Both Lord of the Files and Man on Fire had short runs on the Nielsen charts. Running Point’s sophomore season also opened to about half its viewership, similar to The Four Seasons. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder’s second season—see below—didn’t even make any of the three viewership charts I track, unlike the first season. Netflix is absolutely having a dismal second three months of 2026. If this Nielsen data is any indication, and I think it is, I think this will show up in Netflix’s engagement report, and maybe even their financial outcomes. And the rest of June doesn’t look much better. We have two hit shows coming back—Sweet Magnolias, one of their quietest big shows, and Avatar: The Last Airbender, a big hit for them in 2024—but the other big swings are limited series crime thrillers i.e. no future season potential. Like I said above, sometimes when I uncover a juicy nugget like this, other outlets end up writing very similar articles mimicking the data without credit. We’ll see if that happens this time! Share Television - The State of Superhero Shows on Streaming When I first heard the pitch for Spider-Noir—a Sony TV show on Prime Video that binge-released eight episodes first on MGM+ then on Prime Video two days later—I had my doubts. It’s a live-action Spider-Man show set in the 1930s, starring Nicholas Cage, based on a cameo of a character in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. No, seriously, that’s the pitch. That could either go terrifically well or horribly wrong. Great because, Spider-Man. He’s the biggest superhero we have. I’ve seen tracking numbers that put the new _Spider-Man: Brand New Da_y as the blockbuster of the year and initial pre-sales back that up. And yet this Spider-Noir pitch feels very esoteric. (Also, the eight-episode binge release feels very “Amazon copying Netflix” again.) So what’s the data say? And what does this say about the future of superhero shows?
Sony’s next-gen PlayStation will go ‘beyond the living room’
There could be new ways to play your games on the go.
Sony Pictures Entertainment invests $100m in Cosm
As lead investor in Cosm’s Series C financing round, SPE will acquire a minority ownership stake in the operator of shared reality venues showing sports and films on 27m-wide, 12K+ LED screens.
Sony Tiptoes Over PS6 Release Date, But Insists It Won't Just Follow Xbox
Keep on guessing
A $1000 PlayStation 6 No Longer Sounds Crazy, As Sony Doesn’t Intend To Sell Hardware At Significant Losses
The PlayStation 6 is set to launch at one of the most challenging times for consumer tech, if not the most challenging. With the rising prices of components, RAM and SSDs above all, manufacturers are having an extremely hard time keeping costs down, and with a bill of materials that is now close to $1000, there's a very high chance the system will cost way more than most anticipated. Adding fuel to the fires of speculation is Sony itself, as the company heavily suggested in a recent investor Q&A session that it won't heavily subsidize the system. "We regard hardware as the base […]
It looks like PlayStation 6 is going to cost Sony about $1,000 to make, which likely means it will cost more than that at retail
The cost to make a single unit of the PlayStation 6 has gone up, according to new information from a reliable insider.
PS6 Hardware Cost Estimated at $900+
The upcoming Sony PlayStation 6 is slated to launch sometime in 2028, and with recent reports claiming that the ongoing RAM crisis likely won't end or ease up much before then, concerns are mounting about the price of next-gen gaming consoles. Those concerns are seemingly justified, with ubiquitous ...
Sony will pull Studio Canal purchases for European users
The trend of revoking access to digital purchases continues, this time affecting European customers of Sony's PlayStation Store.
Major PS5 Feature Down for the Last 2 Weeks, Sony Silent
A widely used PS5 feature has been down for the last two weeks on both the console and the PS App, and there's no sign of a fix.
Sony’s New Blu-ray & DVD Player Upscales DVDs to Near-HD Quality - Bring Your Old DVDs To Life Again
In a time when streaming services continue to raise prices, fragment content libraries, remove content, and push intrusive ads, many households are rediscovering the reliability and ownership of physical DVDs and Blu-rays. Sony has answered this shift with the release of its latest affordable disc player: the Sony BDP-S1700U. Priced at just $114.99, this sleek […]
PlayStation is pulling "previously purchased" digital movies from users' libraries
Sony has written to customers to advise that hundreds of "previously purchased" digital movies previously available via its online store will "be removed".
Engadget review recap: MSI Claw 8 EX AI+, Sony A7R VI, Ray-Ban Meta Optics and more
A roundup of recent reviews published by Engadget.
Sony is deleting over 550 purchased movies from PS5 users’ digital libraries
PlayStation says a licensing agreement means users will no longer be able to access some purchased videos…
PlayStation hardware sales fall to their lowest May total since 2000
Price rises hit Sony's console sales, but 007 First Light and Switch 2 help US game spending to grow 3%
Strictly Business Cannes Lions: Deloitte, AWS, Sony Execs on AI and Tech Adoption
Variety Strictly Business Podcast Live presented by AWS & Deloitte featured Deloitte's Michelle McGuire, AWS's Ruba Borno, and Sony Pictures Entertainment's Pete Wood.
Strictly Business Cannes Lions: Deloitte, AWS, Sony Execs on AI and Tech Adoption
Variety Strictly Business Podcast Live presented by AWS & Deloitte featured Deloitte's Michelle McGuire, AWS's Ruba Borno, and Sony Pictures Entertainment's Pete Wood.
PlayStation Removing Purchased Content From Your Library Again
Sony Interactive Entertainment is conducting another round of purchased content removal from the PlayStation library.
Bungie layoffs revealed to have affected nearly 300 jobs at Destiny 2 maker
Sony said this week it had cut nearly the entire Destiny 2 development team…
PlayStation Boss Says New Console Experiences Will Involve 'Leveraging Technologies That Can Be Used in Various Forms and Locations' — and I'm Convinced He's Teasing a PS6 Handheld
Recent comments from Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Hideaki Nishino have suggested PlayStation may move towards more hybrid, Switch-like consoles in the future to match modern on-the-go players.
It's Xbox's turn (again), as console prices keep going up
Microsoft announced a price hike for the Xbox Series consoles today, the third in little over a year. Effective August 1, the Xbox Series S, which launched in 2020 for $300, will cost $500 in the U.S. The Xbox Series X, which launched in 2020 at $500, will go for $800. This follows a round of PlayStation 5 price increases from Sony this spring, and a slow-motion increase for Nintendo’s Switch 2, which will kick in in the U.S. in September. (Mind you, there were also eight video game industry price hikes in six months of 2025). The chart up top shows the sudden ascent of console prices over the past year, a sudden surge in an already unusual hardware generation. Prices had been flat for years, now “up” is the new “flat.” Game console prices used to go down across the length of a console generation, but not this time around. Microsoft’s explanation for the new price hike today: We hoped another price increase would not be necessary, and we have spent the last several months working with suppliers on options. Unfortunately, console storage and memory prices have increased by more than 2.5x and we expect another doubling by the fall of 2027. The entire consumer electronics industry is struggling with the current components crisis, but the effects are particularly hard on consoles. Unlike phones, computers, speakers, and other consumer devices, consoles are typically not sold at a profit, but instead for less than they cost to make. This is an issue well beyond game consoles. Apple announced price hikes on its computers and tablets today as well. Game File is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe Item 2: Brutal Bungie cuts Bungie laid off “most” of its Destiny development team and some developers who worked on Marathon, the newest game from the struggling Sony-owned studio. A WARN notice issued by Sony to Washington State, where Bungie is based, tallied cuts impacting 292 workers, effective next month. That’s strictly for Bungie/Sony jobs in Washington and wouldn’t account for any elsewhere. The video I clipped below shows the redacted list of Bungie cuts filed to Washington State officials. As you’ll see, I had to scroll for a while… In a note emailed to PlayStation workers and published online, PlayStation game studios chief Hermen Hulst offered the following explanation for these latest cuts at Bungie: This is painful news, especially for talented colleagues whose roles have been eliminated. This decision was made only after extensive discussion and careful consideration, and I want to provide some context on how we arrived here. Over the past several months, together with Bungie leadership, we reviewed the studio’s long-term direction, development priorities, resource needs, and role within our broader portfolio strategy. We explored multiple alternatives before concluding that a reduction was necessary to align the studio’s resources with its current priorities and long-term goals. In 2022, Sony bought Bungie for $3.7 billion. The studio’s marquee game, the multiplayer live service shooter Destiny 2 was losing popularity at the time. Its next game Marathon, released earlier this year, has been well-reviewed but had a slow start. Bungie is renowned for making great shooter games, and Destiny fans have mourned the wind-down of Destiny 2. They’ve also expressed bewilderment over reports that Destiny 3 is not, per Bloomberg, immediately in the cards.
Sony files WARN notice for layoffs at Bungie in Bellevue
Sony Interactive Entertainment is reducing the workforce at Bungie, with layoffs affecting a significant number of employees.
Prime Day ends soon: We found 125+ deals from Apple, Lego, Sony, Kindle, and more
Kindle e-readers, Apple Watches, and Samsung TVs are all highlights on day three of the Amazon sale.
Sony A7R VI review: A huge speed boost makes this a nearly perfect high-resolution camera
Sony’s A7R VI finally serves up speed and resolution together thanks to the new 67MP stacked sensor.
An Update from PlayStation Studios
Below is an internal email from Hermen Hulst, CEO, Studio Business Group, Sony Interactive Entertainment distributed today to SIE employees. ********************************************************************************** Dear Team, Today I want to share a difficult update regarding Bungie. We have made the decision to reduce Bungie’s workforce, affecting a significant number of employees, including most of the Destiny team and some Marathon team members. There are also reductions across SIE teams that support […]
Gilbert-backed Cosm gets $100M Sony investment as immersive theater operator expands to Detroit
A Cosm location in downtown Detroit is expected to open in September as part of Dan Gilbert’s Bedrock LLC real estate firm’s Development at Cadillac Square project.
Bungie Is Laying Off "Most Of" The Destiny 2 Development Team
People who worked on Marathon, as well as some Sony Interactive Entertainment employees, are also getting let go.
Prime Day is here: We found 100+ deals from Apple, Lego, Sony, and more
Kindle e-readers, Apple Watches, and portable power stations are all highlights as we wrap day two of the Amazon sale.
Sony Pictures Entertainment Invests $100M In Cosm, Operator Of "Shared Reality" Venues
Sony Pictures Entertainment has made a $100 million strategic investment in Cosm, a venture-backed operator of "shared reality" venues.
Sony Pictures Invests in Cosm Dome Venues in Major Deal
Cosm venues feature a unique dome shape, delivering a fresh experience for live events and theatrical screenings.