Since Sony announced that it was planning to stop producing physical PlayStation discs in 2028, many people have been justifiably worried about how they will maintain ownership and long-term game access in a disc-free world. But halting production of PlayStation discs also means eliminating the market for cheap used PlayStation discs, which are often available for well below the price of a digital download.
How much is this disc-based discount worth? To find out, Ars analyzed how the prices of 19 current top-selling PlayStation games varied between digital downloads and physical discs (both new and used). We found that, while used discs are the cheapest option for most games for most of the year, the frequent and periodic deep discounts offered on the PlayStation Store often undercut the cheapest game disc options. That state of affairs will likely persist even in a future without PlayStation discs.
Our prices are so low, you’ll think we’ve suffered brain damage
For our analysis, we started with Sony’s list of the bestsellers on the PlayStation Store. We eliminated any games that weren’t available on a physical disc, then used the database over at PlatPrices.com to determine both the “Standard” price and the lowest “Discount” price offered for those games on the PlayStation Store in the last year (as well as the total number of days the discount price was offered).
For physical game prices, we checked the current price for a new game disc at Amazon as well as the pre-owned price offered by GameStop. We also analyzed pre-owned disc prices on eBay, taking the average price of the last five successful sales for that game (including shipping) to assess a fair market value.
In some cases, we added in the price of included DLC to ensure a “standard” game disc was content-matched with a digital “special edition” bundle. For PS4 games with “enhanced” PS5 editions, we added the price of that downloadable upgrade (if any) to the price of the PS4 discs.
Kyle Orland
If a PlayStation Store game isn’t actively on sale, you can usually save money buying a used disc.
Kyle Orland
Kyle Orland
During Periodic PS Store sales, the download price is often (but not always) the lowest available.
Kyle Orland
If a PlayStation Store game isn’t actively on sale, you can usually save money buying a used disc.
Kyle Orland
During Periodic PS Store sales, the download price is often (but not always) the lowest available.
Kyle Orland
A quick glance at the results shows that the “Standard” price for games offered on the PlayStation Store is usually an incredibly raw deal. That digital price was the most expensive option available for 15 of the 19 games we looked at (including two where it was more or less tied for most expensive). In some cases, games that were six to eight years old (i.e., Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, and Assassin’s Creed Odyssey) were still being offered digitally at their original launch price of $59.99, even while used discs were available at GameStop for just $9.99.
