Sony’s already repurposing its disc factory as PlayStation moves to digital-only future
Following its wildly unpopular decision to end physical discs for PlayStation games from January 2028 onwards, it seems that Sony might have already been planning the move to digital-only for some time now.
According to a report from Austrian outlet ORF Salzburg, Sony has been quietly reshaping its optical media operations at its Sony DADC facility in Thalgau, Flachgau, Austria in preparation for a major long-term shift away from game discs.
The site is still operating at significant scale today, with around 600,000 discs reportedly leaving the production line each day. However, that volume is expected to drop sharply over the next few years as PlayStation’s reliance on physical media declines. Sony DADC CEO Dietmar Tanzer reportedly said that PlayStation currently accounts for around 50% of the factory’s output, but that figure could fall to just around 10% by 2028 once new PlayStation releases move fully online.
Despite the dramatic reduction in disc production forecasted, Sony is not planning to reduce its workforce at the Thalgau facility. Around 300 employees were reportedly briefed on the restructuring, with the company stating that headcount will remain unchanged. Instead, the focus will be on retraining staff and shifting them into new areas of production.
That transition has actually already begun in parallel with the decline of physical media. According to the report, Sony invested nearly €30 million into new production capabilities at the site, specifically in micro optics technology. This marks a significant pivot away from optical disc manufacturing toward entirely different industrial applications.
Micro optics refers to the miniaturisation of optical systems designed to manipulate and focus light at a very small scale. Sony DADC’s head of Micro Optics, Markus Streibl, explained that one potential use case includes automotive lighting applications, such as vehicle indicators capable of projecting light onto surfaces like asphalt.
Early work on this new direction is already underway, with some staff being reassigned from disc production to test operations for micro optics manufacturing. Sony is also reportedly targeting 2027 to begin full-scale mass production of these optical micro lens systems.
Theese developments suggest that Sony’s shift away from PlayStation discs is not a sudden decision, but part of a longer term plan within Sony themselves.. While the move will fundamentally change how PlayStation games are distributed from 2028 onwards, it is also reshaping what was once a core part of Sony’s physical media business into something entirely different altogether.
Read more of our articles below!
