Will the end of physical game discs trigger a widespread player boycott?
What YouTube comments actually reveal about the anti-digital-only backlash, game by game, with the numbers behind it.
Updated: 01/08/2026
No, the comments don't show a widespread boycott: the end of physical discs fuels a vocal campaign that peaks at ~35% of the discussion on Mortal Shell 2, with far smaller and uneven echoes on GTA VI, God of War Laufey, Control: Resonant, Echoes of Aincrad and Resident Evil Veronica.
The context
On July 1, 2026, Sony announced via the PlayStation Blog that it would end physical disc production for all new PlayStation games starting January 2028, with future titles sold only digitally through the PlayStation Store and retailers.
The announcement triggered player mobilization: the Does It Play collective called on gamers to power off their PlayStation consoles from August 23 to 30, 2026, to protest the planned disappearance of discs.
According to several outlets, Microsoft is reportedly considering a similar shift for Xbox, with an official announcement expected in the months following Sony's.
Separately, Rockstar Games confirmed in late June 2026 that the physical edition of Grand Theft Auto VI, due November 19, 2026, will include no disc, only a download code, with no plans announced for an optical version.
Factual background compiled from public sources — the debate analysis below relies exclusively on the comments.
How we got here
as told by the comments
June 10-13, 2026
The topic quietly emerges around God of War Laufey and Resident Evil Veronica, buried under other controversies (the Faye character, remake reception), without yet forming a visible movement.
June 25-28, 2026
The debate flares up around GTA VI: confirmation that no physical disc exists, paired with edition pricing, triggers a spike of highly liked comments calling it a rip-off and urging a boycott.
mid-July 2026
Mortal Shell 2 becomes ground zero: a wave of near-identical comments (No Disc, No Buy) floods the threads, eventually making up about 35% of all discussion around the game.
July 17-21, 2026
The topic brushes past Echoes of Aincrad but gets overshadowed by broader disappointment over quality and price, without a major echo on the disc issue itself.
late July 2026
Internal pushback on Mortal Shell 2: some commenters call out the copy-paste nature of the campaign as disrespectful to developers, while Control: Resonant joins the list of tracked titles.
On God of War Laufey, the physical-disc debate barely registers: the most-liked comments are almost entirely about the controversy surrounding the character Faye. The scattered mentions of physical media get lost in that noise.
Boycott 55 %
A minority of comments regret the total absence of a disc version, seeing it as another sign of publishers disengaging from players.
Others implicitly link the shift to digital-only with the distrust already expressed toward big studios on this game, without making it a discussion topic on its own.
Pragmatic buyers 45 %
The vast majority of commenters simply ignore the format question, focused instead on the Faye character and the game's critical reception.
No one in the most-followed threads relays a call to boycott the game over this issue, unlike other titles on the list.
On Resident Evil Veronica, fear of losing access to purchased games if a PSN account gets banned fuels a fairly direct defense of physical discs. The topic stays secondary next to the overall excitement for the remake, but a few highly liked comments explicitly lump Capcom and Sony together in the same criticism.
Boycott 65 %
Some point out that a banned or hacked PSN account makes digital purchases inaccessible, while a physical disc still works no matter what.
« It's scary to think about: if your PSN account gets banned or hacked, you can't download the games you bought anymore. With a physical disc, you can still just pop it in and play. »
A parallel is drawn between Capcom, seen as more respectful of its longtime fans, and Sony accused of trying to finish off its own player base by dropping the disc.
« We're getting the grandma treatment from Capcom, while Sony is trying to finish off its own fanbase. »
On GTA VI, the confirmed absence of a disc version has crystallized part of the frustration around the pricing of the different editions. The topic becomes a recurring argument against buying, tangled up with distrust toward Rockstar and Take-Two over future monetization.
Boycott 55 %
None of the original writers, no physical disc sums up a line of refusal echoed by several highly liked commenters, tied to a broader loss of trust in the studio.
« None of the original writers. No physical disc. No trust. No purchase. »
A recurring theory claims the publisher deliberately delays any disc version to maximize digital preorders before rediscovering physical media later.
« Corporations have to quash any rumor of a physical release to make sure everyone buys digital upfront first. Later, after pretending to listen to fans, they'll roll out a physical edition so they can double-dip on a chunk of their customers. »
— @ricksgamemisc10 · ♥ 2 k · translated ·
see original ↗
Pragmatic buyers 45 %
Other commenters push back: despite the criticism, preorders piled up as soon as they opened, raising doubts about how real the announced boycott actually is.
« The thumbnail says they think we're stupid. But looking at how many preorders rolled in as soon as it opened... what else are they supposed to think? »
Some argue that a physical disc doesn't really mean much anymore once the game requires a permanent internet connection to fully function.
« I don't even know if people really want the physical copy. They think they can play offline, but this game, like most today, needs internet anyway. A physical copy doesn't really mean much anymore. »
On Echoes of Aincrad, the physical-disc controversy is almost invisible: the most-followed comments mainly slam the game's quality and its price. The debate over the format itself stays marginal next to that broader disappointment.
Boycott 50 %
A few comments hint at the idea of voting with your wallet, a reflex close to a boycott mindset, but aimed at the game's quality rather than the physical format.
No explicit call to boycott over the missing disc emerges in the most-liked threads.
Pragmatic buyers 50 %
Most comments treat the format question as secondary compared to gameplay and content issues seen as more urgent.
Some mention buying the game despite the criticism purely out of attachment to the franchise, unrelated to the disc issue.
Mortal Shell 2 carries the bulk of the mobilization on its own: a wave of near-identical comments demands the return of physical discs and threatens to skip the purchase if Sony sticks with digital-only. The topic weighs far more heavily here than on any other title on the list.
Boycott 70 %
The slogan No Disc, No Buy comes back almost word for word in dozens of comments, a sign of an organized copy-paste campaign rather than a spontaneous one.
« No Disc, No Buy!!! »
— @AntonioCarlosBiohazard · ♥ 0 · translated ·
see original ↗
Some claim demand for physical discs is outstripping supply, and vow to switch to PC or retro gaming if Sony fully drops the format.
« So many people want a physical disc that they're running out of stock. Nice try, Sony. You end physical discs, and me and plenty of others will go to PC or retro gaming instead. »
Some commenters call out the repetition of the same message as disrespectful to the developers' work on the game itself.
« Can you all just be happy about the game's release? You're doing the devs and their hard work a disservice by commenting the same thing over and over. »
No available comments currently document the exact shape of the debate on Control: Resonant. The game is still tracked as part of this controversy, with a discussion weight comparable to God of War Laufey or GTA VI.
Boycott 55 %
Without specific comments available, the exact substance of the criticism around physical media remains unclear.
The game is tracked as part of the same wave of mobilization seen elsewhere, though no specific argument could be isolated.
Pragmatic buyers 45 %
Likewise, no specific counter-argument could be isolated for this title at this stage.
The 12% weight measured for this topic suggests the debate is genuinely present, though no detail is available on its exact tone.
Where the debate standsThe debate looks more like a vocal campaign than a verifiable boycott, since preorders keep coming in on several titles despite the calls to refuse purchase. The pushback is most intense and organized on Mortal Shell 2, far ahead of the other tracked games where the topic stays secondary to other controversies.
Frequently asked questions
Has the physical-disc boycott actually happened?
The comments show no evidence of falling sales: on GTA VI, for instance, preorders kept pouring in despite boycott calls. It looks more like a loud, repetitive campaign than a measurable, effective boycott.
Which games are most affected by the physical-disc controversy?
Mortal Shell 2 carries most of the debate (~35% of its discussion), followed by GTA VI and God of War Laufey (~14% each), Control: Resonant (~12%), Echoes of Aincrad (~9%) and Resident Evil Veronica (~7%).
Why are players pushing so hard for physical discs to return?
Comments mainly cite fear of losing access to purchased games if an account gets banned, distrust toward publishers and Sony, and the symbolic value of truly owning a game rather than just a digital license.
Do all commenters support this boycott movement?
No: on both Mortal Shell 2 and GTA VI, some commenters call out the repetitive, copy-pasted nature of the messages as disrespectful to developers, and keep buying the games regardless of the missing disc.
Analysis built from 292 public YouTube comments on the tracked videos — updated on 01/08/2026.
Our methodology
