Even KFC is Dunking on Sony, as the Dust Settles on PlayStation's Shock Decision to Kill Physical Game Discs

Yesterday's bombshell quality from Sony that it volition halt releasing caller PlayStation games connected disc from 2028 onwards has generated a predictively antagonistic effect online — to the grade that celebrities and large brands from beyond the satellite of gaming person besides joined in.

While it was to beryllium expected that video crippled developers and fans would person beardown opinions connected what galore spot arsenic an abrupt extremity to consoles supporting crippled discs (and indeed, we've rounded up galore of the industry's opinions close here), the quality that PS5 would ditch carnal media has travelled acold and wide, reported by large quality sources and parodied by brands connected societal media.

"BREAKING NEWS: KFC volition halt offering its carnal format starting today," wrote the authoritative X/Twitter relationship for KFC successful Spain, which has implicit 1 cardinal followers. "Products tin lone beryllium consumed done our app successful fake PNG format. Within 1 period we'll merchandise a DLC with the sauces.

— KFC (@KFC_ES) July 2, 2026

"Within a twelvemonth we'll merchandise the FriedChicken Pass," KFC continued. "You'll get our full catalog for a humble monthly price. If you pirate the PNGs connected Pinterest we'll travel to your house."

Sticking successful the satellite of accelerated nutrient brands, Domino's Pizza UK retweeted PlayStation's announcement and commented that it "makes astir arsenic overmuch consciousness arsenic america changing to integer pizzas." It continued: "They took Blockbuster from us. Now the gaming aisle."

BREAKING NEWS pic.twitter.com/i28QZd7Z2g

— Domino's Pizza UK (@Dominos_UK) July 2, 2026

Meanwhile, erstwhile precocious nighttime chat amusement big Trevor Noah took to X/Twitter to knock Sony's determination successful detail, arguing that sharing games via their carnal discs was the lone mode immoderate gamers could spend to play, erstwhile copies were yet disposable cheaper second-hand. "You tin besides springiness games to your younger siblings," Noah continued. "Which is simply a large mode to present them to the games you were playing."

Noah adjacent pointed to Sony's announcement earlier this week that a swathe of films bought digitally via the PlayStation Store would beryllium removed from customers' accounts owed to rights issues.

"As we saw from PlayStation this past week, if the media we bargain is lone digital, it tin beryllium taken distant from america astatine a moment's announcement with nary recourse," Noah concluded. "Imagine that, 1 time your full room of games could beryllium deleted overnight due to the fact that technically you don't ain it."

The station has been warmly received, with erstwhile Battlefield manager David Goldfarb noting his approval, and the fashionable video crippled preservation and accessibility relationship Does it Play? stating that this was an "underrepresented aspect" that would besides harm crippled income by removing 1 method that provided connection of rima and discoverability.

Within the games industry, retro and indie console shaper Blaze Entertainment, which makes the cartridge-based Evercade consoles, published its ain parody of Sony's infamous "this is however you stock your games connected PS4" video, which galore person pointed to successful the past 24 hours arsenic coming from a now-bygone era.

Official Evercade Physical Game Sharing Instructional Video pic.twitter.com/Ufb3eLmBpT

— Evercade (@evercaderetro) July 2, 2026

While galore spot integer downloads arsenic the sole, inevitable method of crippled ownership successful future, Sony simultaneously undermined this conception yesterday with the announcement that it was shutting down its PlayStation Store connected the aging PS3 and PlayStation Vita. At the aforesaid time, analysts person pointed to the extremity of carnal media connected PS5 arsenic a wide awesome that PS6 volition beryllium a digital-only console, and not owed for motorboat until astatine slightest 2028.

It's not conscionable Sony doing distant with discs, either. Microsoft's next-gen Xbox, codenamed Project Helix, volition reportedly merchandise without a disc drive. In tandem, Microsoft is said to beryllium exploring a caller disc-to-digital diagnostic that would fto users enactment a disc into their console and summation a integer licence for the game, giving them the quality to play it without a disc.

Image credit: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You tin scope Tom astatine [email protected] oregon find him connected Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social