On July 1, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced it will end physical disc production for all new PlayStation games starting in January 2028. What followed was weeks of sustained protest across PlayStation's social channels — and in one particularly ironic case, that anger landed on a two-person indie team from New Zealand who had nothing to do with the decision. Their first game, Teeto, launched July 15 to 100% positive Steam reviews. Then PlayStation posted the launch trailer to its official YouTube channel.
- ▶Sources: PlayStation Blog — Official announcement on disc production ending · Dexerto — Two-person indie team brigaded over Sony disc backlash
Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| July 1, 2026 | Sony announces physical disc production ends for new PS games from January 2028 |
| July 15, 2026 | Teeto launches on PS5, PC, Nintendo Switch 2, and Nintendo Switch |
| July 15, 2026 | PlayStation uploads Teeto launch trailer to its official YouTube channel |
| July 16, 2026 | Eat Pant Games discovers 400+ comments — almost none about the game |
| July 17, 2026 | Some users directly demand the studio cancel its digital release and go physical-only |
| July 18, 2026 | Comment count exceeds 600; Dexerto and other outlets cover the story |
Sony's Announcement: What It Actually Says
Sony's July 1 statement framed the decision as following consumer trends:
""In response to shifting trends in consumer preference, new games will be released on PlayStation Store and at retailers in digital formats only."
— Sony Interactive Entertainment, PlayStation Blog, July 1, 2026
The key specifics buried in the announcement:
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Affected titles | New games releasing from January 2028 onward |
| Pre-existing physical releases | Not affected — games already released or planned for disc before the cutoff are exempt |
| Retail presence | Physical retail continues; products become digital code cards rather than discs |
| Resale | Digital codes cannot be resold in the traditional second-hand sense |
The announcement drew immediate and widespread pushback. A petition to reverse the decision attracted hundreds of thousands of signatures. PlayStation's social accounts and YouTube channel have been flooded with protest comments since July 1.
Teeto and Eat Pant Games
Teeto is a 3D adventure platformer about Teeto the blob and Nory the bunny fighting a spreading shadow corruption across their world. The game draws clear inspiration from late-1990s and early-2000s collectathon platformers — Banjo-Kazooie, Spyro the Dragon, Donkey Kong 64 — while adding modern co-op and customization elements.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Developer | Eat Pant Games (Aotearoa New Zealand, 2 people) |
| Publisher | Super Rare Originals, CouchPlay Interactive |
| Release date | July 15, 2026 |
| Platforms | PC (Steam), PS5, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch |
| Price | $17.99 (20% launch discount through July 25) |
| Steam reviews | Positive — 100% (18 reviews at launch) |
Eat Pant Games is a family-run studio led by couple Mitch and Ali. They got engaged in-game during Teeto's development. Their daughter voices several in-game characters. Teeto is their first full release.
The publisher carries its own layer of irony here. Super Rare Originals is the publishing label of Super Rare Games — a company whose entire business model is built around releasing limited-run physical editions of indie titles. The dev team behind the game are themselves aligned with the physical media cause.
What Happened
When PlayStation posted the Teeto launch trailer to its official YouTube channel, Eat Pant Games checked the comments expecting engagement.
""Me: omg! our game just launched and PlayStation posted our launch trailer! 400 comments whaaaaaat! I wonder what people think of our game?? Oh… oh no"
— @EatPantGames on X, July 16, 2026
The comment section had been colonized by the disc protest. Messages like "We want discs," "Keep making discs Sony," and "You'll own nothing and you'll be happy" dominated the thread. By July 18, comments exceeded 600 — the vast majority unrelated to Teeto itself.
Some users escalated, sending direct messages to the studio demanding it cancel its digital release and launch physically instead.
""We've literally had people tell us to CANCEL our digital release and do physical only. IDK if people realise that we are just 2 people and this is our first game. We'd LOVE to do physical & we support physical ownership but our game kinda has to do well digitally first."
— @EatPantGames on X, July 17, 2026
""Would LOVE a physical version of Teeto – it's our dream! We have to see how the digital release goes first."
— @EatPantGames
The studio also clarified that the PS5 version was nearly finished before Sony made its July 1 announcement. Pulling it at that point would have meant losses for the studio and no PlayStation option for players who wanted it there.
Perspectives
| Party | Position |
|---|---|
| Sony | Digital transition reflects where consumer preference is heading; existing physical releases unaffected |
| Eat Pant Games | Support physical ownership; digital-first is a financial necessity for a 2-person debut |
| Physical media advocates | Argue that any digital-only launch strengthens the platform direction they oppose |
| Gaming press | Near-unanimous view that the anger was directed at the wrong party |
The Bigger Picture
The physical versus digital debate in gaming has been building for over a decade. Sony's announcement did not start it; it accelerated a tension already present. But the incident with Teeto illustrates a specific problem with how that frustration is being expressed.
Indie developer economics: For a two-person studio, the cost gap between digital and physical publishing is substantial. Physical production involves platform holder licensing fees, minimum print-run commitments that can reach into the thousands of units, and logistics costs that digital distribution simply does not have. Demanding a first-time developer skip digital and go straight to disc shows a misunderstanding of how games at that scale actually get funded and shipped.
The resale and preservation argument: The concerns behind the disc movement are legitimate. Games locked to digital platforms can disappear when licenses expire, services shut down, or companies are acquired. Resale markets and game preservation both depend on physical media. But those concerns are Sony's responsibility to address — not Eat Pant Games'.
The Super Rare angle: Super Rare Games has a track record of releasing limited physical editions of exactly the kind of indie games Teeto represents. If the digital launch performs well, a physical run could plausibly follow. The protest in the comment section may have actively worked against the outcome its participants wanted.
Community Reaction
Coverage by Dexerto and other outlets generated widespread sympathy for Eat Pant Games. The dominant reaction in gaming communities was that the protest had targeted the wrong party. A minority maintained that any digital PS5 launch provides implicit support for the direction Sony is taking.
Teeto's Steam user rating held at 100% positive throughout. Vice described it as "a love letter to 3D platforming of yesteryear."
GamePeak Take
Sony's disc discontinuation raises real questions about long-term game ownership and access that are worth debating loudly. But directing that frustration at a two-person studio launching their first game accomplishes nothing except drowning out the launch of someone who had no part in the decision.
Eat Pant Games did not make Sony's call. They want physical releases. They chose digital first for the same reasons almost every small studio does: it's the only financially viable path to start. If the game does well, a physical edition through Super Rare may yet happen.
The argument belongs at Sony's door. It didn't belong in Teeto's launch trailer comments.