{"id":2095242,"date":"2026-08-15T16:21:22","date_gmt":"2026-08-15T13:21:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2095242"},"modified":"2026-08-15T16:21:22","modified_gmt":"2026-08-15T13:21:22","slug":"killing-playstation-discs-could-make-ps-store-games-cheaper-according-to-a-former-square-enix-exec","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2095242","title":{"rendered":"Killing PlayStation discs could make PS Store games cheaper, according to a former Square Enix exec"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article \" data-ads=\"true\" data-article-type=\"news\" data-article-group=\"news\" data-paywalled=\"false\" data-premium=\"false\" data-sponsored=\"false\" data-type=\"article\">\n<header class=\"article_header\" data-component=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<nav class=\"nav_breadcrumbs\" data-component=\"nav-breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">\n<ul class=\"nav-links\">\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Home<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/news\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      News<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_details\" id=\"main-content\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">Killing PlayStation discs could make PS Store games cheaper, according to a former Square Enix exec<\/h1>\n<p class=\"strapline\">Disc-count.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_asset\">\n<figure class=\"headline_image_wrapper\">\n<p>        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"headline_image\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/sony-ps5-discs.jpg?width=570&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;dpr=3&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"PS5 console with disc drive over a grid of PS5 discs\" loading=\"eager\" data-uri=\"sony-ps5-discs.jpg\" data-lightbox width=\"570\" height=\"321\"><figcaption>\n          <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Eurogamer<\/cite><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metadata\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Vikki Blake avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/1533038852.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"179\"><\/p>\n<p>  <img alt=\"Vikki Blake avatar\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"1533038852.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"179\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"byline\">\n                  <span class=\"article_type\" data-slug=\"news\"><br \/>\n                    News<br \/>\n                  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"by\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/authors\/vikki-blake\">Vikki Blake<\/a><\/span>                    <span class=\"job_title\"><br \/>\n                      Contributor<br \/>\n                    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"published_at\">\n<p>Published on   <time datetime=\"2026-08-15T16:21:22+00:00\" data-auto-time-zone=\"true\" data-year=\"numeric\" data-month=\"short\" data-day=\"numeric\" data-hour=\"numeric\" data-minute=\"numeric\">Aug. 15, 2026, 4:21 p.m.<\/time>\n              <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>A former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/companies\/square-enix\">Square Enix<\/a> exec believes that PS Store prices could actually come down as a result of Sony&#8217;s decision to end all physical media on PlayStation.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/sony-ending-playstation-discs-physical-media-january-2028\">Sony announced on 1st July that it will end all physical media on PlayStation<\/a>, including for games not published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. All releases from January 2028 onwards will be digital-only, including <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/grand-theft-auto-6-preorders-gta6-no-disc\">code-in-the-box-style options<\/a> at retail. It applies to all games releasing on PlayStation, including third-party titles, not just those produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment.<\/p>\n<p>Jacob Navok, former director of business development at Square Enix and now CEO of Genvid, laid out the argument on Twitter\/X.<\/p>\n<div class=\"twitter_wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Competition between publishers is what drives pricing pressure, not competition between digital stores. This is because publishers set pricing on digital stores.<\/p>\n<p>Competition between stores like EGS and Steam improves the take rates for developers, not necessarily the price for\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/6ZZw8EUJ5v\">https:\/\/t.co\/6ZZw8EUJ5v<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/0QLQmclwsG\">pic.twitter.com\/0QLQmclwsG<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Jacob Navok (@JNavok) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/JNavok\/status\/2087715935226380319?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 13, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span class=\"embed_placeholder\" data-type=\"targeting\" style=\"display: none\"><br \/>\n<span class=\"message\">To see this content please enable targeting cookies.<\/span><br \/>\n<button class=\"optanon-show-settings link\"><br \/>\nManage cookie settings<\/button><\/span>\n<\/div>\n<p>His core point is that &#8220;competition between publishers is what drives pricing pressure, not competition between digital stores&#8221; \u2013 in other words, it&#8217;s publishers who set the price on a digital storefront, not the store itself.<\/p>\n<p>According to Navok, that means competition between Steam and the Epic Games Store mostly affects the cut developers get to keep, rather than what players actually pay.<\/p>\n<p>Where prices do fall, he argues, is when a title is competing directly against other titles on the same storefront \u2013 pointing to a chart of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/final-fantasy-xvi\">Final Fantasy 16<\/a>&#8216;s Steam pricing gradually sliding downward over time as evidence of that competitive pressure at work.<\/p>\n<p>Applied to PlayStation specifically, Navok predicts: &#8220;The more the PlayStation Store becomes digital only, the greater this trend will accelerate.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;You will see more sales and dynamic pricing similar to Steam because publishers will compete among themselves to a greater extent.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s worth noting that cheaper games wouldn&#8217;t offset every downside of the move \u2013 concerns remain around digital ownership rights, and there&#8217;s no physical option left for anyone who still wants one. Whether that trade-off works out in players&#8217; favour is very much a matter of perspective.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>If there was ever any doubt, Sony doesn&#8217;t seem to be backing down from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/sony-ending-playstation-discs-physical-media-january-2028\">its controversial decision to stop manufacturing disc-based games<\/a>. It appears <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/ps5-boxes-labels-physical-media-2028\">a notice has now been added to new PS5 consoles<\/a> that have disc drives to warn users that, as announced, PlayStation will cease supporting physical media at the beginning of 2028.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"preferred-source\" data-component=\"preferred-source\">\nLove Eurogamer.net? Make us a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\">Preferred Source on Google<\/a> and catch more of our coverage in your feeds.  <\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>A former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/companies\/square-enix\">Square Enix<\/a> exec believes that PS Store prices could actually come down as a result of Sony&#8217;s decision to end all physical media on PlayStation.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/sony-ending-playstation-discs-physical-media-january-2028\">Sony announced on 1st July that it will end all physical media on PlayStation<\/a>, including for games not published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. All releases from January 2028 onwards will be digital-only, including <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/grand-theft-auto-6-preorders-gta6-no-disc\">code-in-the-box-style options<\/a> at retail. It applies to all games releasing on PlayStation, including third-party titles, not just those produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment.<\/p>\n<p>Jacob Navok, former director of business development at Square Enix and now CEO of Genvid, laid out the argument on Twitter\/X.<\/p>\n<div class=\"twitter_wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Competition between publishers is what drives pricing pressure, not competition between digital stores. This is because publishers set pricing on digital stores.<\/p>\n<p>Competition between stores like EGS and Steam improves the take rates for developers, not necessarily the price for\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/6ZZw8EUJ5v\">https:\/\/t.co\/6ZZw8EUJ5v<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/0QLQmclwsG\">pic.twitter.com\/0QLQmclwsG<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Jacob Navok (@JNavok) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/JNavok\/status\/2087715935226380319?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 13, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span class=\"embed_placeholder\" data-type=\"targeting\" style=\"display: none\"><br \/>\n<span class=\"message\">To see this content please enable targeting cookies.<\/span><br \/>\n<button class=\"optanon-show-settings link\"><br \/>\nManage cookie settings<\/button><\/span>\n<\/div>\n<p>His core point is that &#8220;competition between publishers is what drives pricing pressure, not competition between digital stores&#8221; \u2013 in other words, it&#8217;s publishers who set the price on a digital storefront, not the store itself.<\/p>\n<p>According to Navok, that means competition between Steam and the Epic Games Store mostly affects the cut developers get to keep, rather than what players actually pay.<\/p>\n<p>Where prices do fall, he argues, is when a title is competing directly against other titles on the same storefront \u2013 pointing to a chart of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/final-fantasy-xvi\">Final Fantasy 16<\/a>&#8216;s Steam pricing gradually sliding downward over time as evidence of that competitive pressure at work.<\/p>\n<p>Applied to PlayStation specifically, Navok predicts: &#8220;The more the PlayStation Store becomes digital only, the greater this trend will accelerate.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;You will see more sales and dynamic pricing similar to Steam because publishers will compete among themselves to a greater extent.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s worth noting that cheaper games wouldn&#8217;t offset every downside of the move \u2013 concerns remain around digital ownership rights, and there&#8217;s no physical option left for anyone who still wants one. Whether that trade-off works out in players&#8217; favour is very much a matter of perspective.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>If there was ever any doubt, Sony doesn&#8217;t seem to be backing down from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/sony-ending-playstation-discs-physical-media-january-2028\">its controversial decision to stop manufacturing disc-based games<\/a>. It appears <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/ps5-boxes-labels-physical-media-2028\">a notice has now been added to new PS5 consoles<\/a> that have disc drives to warn users that, as announced, PlayStation will cease supporting physical media at the beginning of 2028.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home News Killing PlayStation discs could make PS Store games cheaper, according to a former Square Enix exec Disc-count. Image credit: Eurogamer News by Vikki Blake Contributor Published on Aug. 15, 2026, 4:21 p.m. A former Square Enix exec believes that PS Store prices could actually come down as a result of Sony&#8217;s decision to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,253],"class_list":["post-2095242","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-eurogamer-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2095242","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2095242"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2095242\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2095242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2095242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2095242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}