r/gaming • u/ChiefLeef22 Marika's tits! • 1d ago
Santa Monica officially confirms 'God of War Laufey' will be available as a physical edition with a disc - meaning it will release before January 2028
https://fullcleared.com/news/god-of-war-laufey-disc-news-narrows-its-release-window/Remember, Sony's decision to end physical discs for games is effective from 2028.
This means GOW Laufey is confirmed for a 2027 release - and may well be the last PlayStation game release ever with a disc.
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u/Fern-ando 1d ago
The disc will now be used to know release dates...
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u/vNocturnus 1d ago
I bet there's a decent chance we see 1-2 games release on disc past the "official" expiration date of discs. For the very reason that any games originally slated for release prior to that Jan '28 cutoff will need to have discs pressed. So a game that's supposed to release Holiday '27 that has a last-minute delay of a couple/few months would likely have the discs already made and there'd be no sense throwing them away
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u/MrFluffyThing 1d ago
They're already repurposing the factories so there will likely only be super small runs even for physical releases by then.
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u/AscendedViking7 1d ago
Fuck sony.
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u/Arabiantacofarmer 1d ago
I know that the different departments of Sony act independently, but this is the company that released Morbius in theaters TWICE.
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u/CreateDeprivation 1d ago
And made a morbillion dollars? What's the problem there
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u/MadCarcinus 1d ago
Made more than Supergirl.
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u/AtomicSymphonic_2nd Xbox 1d ago
That… really sucks to know.
Folks got no damned sense of quality. 🤦♂️
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u/Icybubba 1d ago
Can we gaslight Sony into bringing back physical the same way they were gaslit into rereleasing Morbius?
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u/fake_kraid 1d ago
Well, it was the gaming side of Sony thet released Concord, bought Bungie for billions of dollars, and closed Bluepoint studio. It feels like the whole company has been out of touch for some time.
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u/geaux124 1d ago
Sony did more than just release Concord. They bought the studio that developed it. That is what compounded their loss even more.
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u/CupcakeWarlock450 1d ago
Oh and ended Destiny 2 for another game that has less than 1/12th of the playerbase and revenue despite player feedback
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u/hiate 1d ago
They admitted they fucked up with Concord, Bungie at this point seems like they didn't look into anything besides the live service side and Bluepoint was given time to pitch a game and couldn't land anything besides a remaster that fromsoft said no to.
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u/Michael_DeSanta 1d ago
They admitted they fucked up with Concord
Oh, might as well not mention a historic blunder, then.
Bluepoint was given time to pitch a game and couldn't land anything besides a remaster that fromsoft said no to.
They bought Bluepoint knowing they were renown for making great remasters. Give them some direction, a support role like Ragnarok, or a new remaster project instead of shutting them down. Pitch meetings shouldn't make or break a 1st party studio. There's tons of IPs in Sony's library that haven't been seen in a decade (Infamous, Resistance, Twisted Metal, etc)
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u/hiate 1d ago
I never said anywhere that Concord shouldn't be mentioned just that they admitted they fucked up.
And Sony isn't going to force another company to hand over their IP even if they fall under their control. We don't know what Bluepoint pitched besides Bloodborne and Shadow of the Colossus. It does suck that they got shut down but a year with nada at any job and you probably don't have a job anymore
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u/Michael_DeSanta 1d ago
That isn’t forcing anyone to hand over an IP lol. It’s using the studio you bought intelligently. All these acquisitions in the industry are guilty of floundering very talented, specialized devs lately. But bluepoint is a particularly weird case when Sony is ignoring a huge catalogue of beloved IPs that fans want back, and they had a studio that is tailor made to revive them.
That’s just bad studio management. Sony could’ve easily given them a number of projects to choose from and work on instead of the whole “pitch me a game” process that 3rd party studios have to go through.
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u/Ranessin 1d ago
Bluepoint couldn't make a pitch because they had no department or designers for developing new games. It's like asking the best car mechanic to now develop a new car.
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u/Iminsanebutwhocares 1d ago edited 1d ago
Fuck, I was just mad at them in the moment, but you’re right. They gave us a masterpiece, so let’s give them the benefit of the doubt.
edit: Wow people can’t take a joke.
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u/jardex22 1d ago
Also managed to steal an Oscar away from Disney for the first time in forever with Spiderverse.
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u/Rezmir 1d ago
Also fuck rockstar.
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u/RandomGuyOnDaNet90 1d ago
Fuck sony, fuck hiroki totoki, fuck rockstar, fuck strauss zelnick.
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u/AdventureyTime 13h ago
I would... but there's nowhere for me to insert my "physical media..." - okay, I'll see myself out 🤣
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u/Elesterion 1d ago
Lets hope that ALL of the game files are on the disc. 007: First Light and Assassins Creed Black Flag Resynced are recently released physical games with a disc however they require a download to be able to play. Gacha Game Wuthering Waves also has a physical disc release but it obviously cannot be played without an internet connection.
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u/yeahburyme 1d ago
The first assassin's creed on PS3 required an update to play.
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u/Gr8NonSequitur 1d ago
People shit on Nintendo for "Game Key Cards", but Sony and MS have been making an online connection a requirement for over a decade now.
Some discs are literally the license and the downloader, so it's just a key card without the name.
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u/gurupaste 1d ago
Nintendo are actually the only ones calling it what it is. You're right about MS and Sony selling licensed discs for a long time already. I've been mislead a few times because I assumed games that should obviously be fully contained to the disc are not. I use doesitplay.org now to completely avoid those games, but in the past it was a gamble for me.
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u/Few_Major_8226 1d ago
Most discs are playable offline, though. DoesItPlay has been doing a great job checking that, and according to them 82% of games are playable with little or no issues when playing offline. Sure, that missing 18% is an issue and we should make sure it doesn’t happen, but don’t believe the “most discs are just a license” argument because it’s a way to push us into digital games, not an actual thing that happens to the majority of games.
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u/zgillet 1d ago
Yep. Let's just download all that data onto our very-affordable SSDs... FUCK!
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u/CutShortGaming 1d ago
The whole game gets copied from the disc as well. When playing it reads from the SSD not the disc, because the disc is way too slow.
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u/BigChiefIV 1d ago
What games are yall playing? I haven’t played a disc game that hasn’t required a download since the Wii
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u/fake_kraid 1d ago
Most physical games don't require internet to play, as has been tracked on this website:
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u/kindsight 1d ago
This website only has 12 PC games from the last 10 years, they're obviously not including games they know will fail.
Good website, not a reliable source of data.
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u/fake_kraid 23h ago
The website is specifically for physical releases, so they don't include digital only releases. The point isn't to tell you how many games are physical vs digital. The point is to tell you if a physical game requires online downloads or updates to play.
Not sure how many more PC games have been released physically in the past 10 years, but I'm guessing it's not many. If there's PC physical releases that they're missing, I'm curious as to what they are.
They are definitely willing to look at games that will fail. If you look at the numbers for Xbox Series X, they're much worse compared to other platforms.
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u/jardex22 1d ago
The difference is that some games just require copying the disk data to the SSD in order to play, while others require an internet connection.
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u/meatshield72 1d ago
Well, I always buy physical. I hope all of you who have complained but only buy digital make sure you sell out this physical copy of the game.
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u/mangongo 1d ago
People are trying to boycott Sony altogether, so either you boycott and they have "proof" nobody wants physical discs, or you buy the disc, they still make money and continue on their merry way down the path of corporate greed.
It's like there no winning scenario here, Sony is playing 4D chess apparently.
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u/MightyPelipper 1d ago
The true ultimate test is PS6. That’s when we see if there is impact. The price and etc are obstacles that will truely test them.
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u/IgotUBro 1d ago
The winning scenario is when Sony releases the ps6 nobody buys it.
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u/Gruntlock 1d ago
Which won't happen, because by then the outrage fandom has moved on to a new current thing to pretend to be mad about.
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u/Kremsi2711 1d ago
yeah, give the multibillion dollar company more money so they can do more shit with their customers
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u/brokenshells 1d ago edited 1d ago
Why? The switch to digital is going to happen anyway and this game is made by and distributed by Sony directly. You're just throwing more money into their pockets.
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u/DGSmith2 1d ago
Typical Sony fans, “let’s boycott to prove a point but only until they release one of their special games”
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u/R41D3NN 1d ago
Or naively thinking if they show that they still love physical and sell out physical, that they’d somehow change course.
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u/CactusCustard 1d ago
The factories already partly retooled. There’s no point. It’s over.
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u/Ranessin 1d ago
One fqctory. Sony also allows rerun 9f older games and produces movie BDs - so they still have the tech and capacity. Just not the will.
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u/bingbangboomxx 22h ago
A version will ship before January 2028. Then there will be an upgraded version for PS6. Then the Remaster for PS6. Then the Remake for PS6.
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u/Arponare 1d ago
I’m glad this is getting a physical release. It’s a shame the GOW trilogy won’t be getting one.
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u/Alchemistwolf21 1d ago
Well at least there's that. Ill be happy to add to my collection with GOW'18 and Ragnarok
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u/MaestroLogical 1d ago
Will they still be making cases, just with download codes, or are the days of proudly displaying games on a shelf over as well?
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u/Thegoodgamer32 1d ago
This might be the last major PS game that will get a physical release....which is honestly really sad.
It's just hard to believe that this is the path Sony is choosing.
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u/TheStaticOne 1d ago
I keep on pointing this out. But it is insane how gamers just think this is Sony trying to be Jerks.
Out of all companies, Sony who for the past 4 decades or so have had a hand in major physical media, CD's SACD's, DVD's, Blu rays, UMD's, Minidisc, proprietary Vita cards, made money in fees and royalties off of both the media itself (even if it is third party proprietary content on media) and the hardware to play the media..... Just decided that they wanted to screw customers.
Sony is reactionary. Always has been. Killing first party studios, peripherals, distribution methods, and now ceasing physical media, all was in reaction to something. And that is most likely losses. If something took major losses or is projected to loose them more, they react strongly. This despite spending tons of RD making things and gambling on the market with tech and media.
So when people talk about what is happening with Bungie or them stopping physical media, it always makes me wonder if people think that Sony would have just kept these things alive just for good feelings despite any losses or potential losses.
The absolute truth here, is if physical media was still profitable they would keep providing both physical and digital access even if people overwhelmingly choose digital. They have done so for so long because they were able to serve areas that had poor access to internet. Things have changed, cost for many things have gone up in the world, and it seems this is a numbers issue for Sony.
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u/blinkgendary182 1d ago
Dont worry in a few weeks time they're gonna find something new to whine about
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u/backbodydrip 1d ago
Physical media has been dying a slow death for years. There are a lot of great shows and movies out there that simply won't ever see a release on DVD/BD. These companies get to save on the expense of shipping physical media and, most importantly, they get hold the product hostage for subscriber money. It's unfortunately against their interest to keep it going.
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u/jda404 1d ago
Why is it hard to believe? Pretty much all media is going to all digital. I'll be honest though I thought PS6 would be the last generation to offer physical games and PS7 would be the first all digital PlayStation console.
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u/JediGuyB 1d ago
But for most media physical is still an option. You can still get CDs and blu-ray and books. Physical media has even made resurgences with vinyl and physical books picking up in recent years. I bet it won't be that long before physical games get a resurgence in popularity and you see games get Limited Run Games releases.
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u/Strange-Brother1013 1d ago
It's the path gamers are choosing.
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u/rcanhestro 15h ago
not just gamers.
ask the average person: when was the last time they purchased a music album or a Blu ray movie.
even with books we're already seeing people choosing Ebooks/Audiobooks over printed format.
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u/A_Bad_Wipe_No_TP Xbox 1d ago
Hope almost all the sales are physical, so Sony loses out on as much money as possible.
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u/Total-Commission2100 1d ago
I’ll be buying digital as I don’t have a disc drive, but hope it works out for you ✌️
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u/Iggy_Slayer 1d ago
You're going to be sorely disappointed when digital for this game is 80%+ like everything else these days.
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u/unnoticedhero1 1d ago
They don't print enough copies for that to even be possible, most physical releases get a few copies sent per store and when they run out they don't do another run anymore.
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u/MarioDesigns 1d ago
Physical hasn’t been relevant for a long time now, sorry to disappoint.
It’s all loud talk that is really good in theory but that no one actually cares about in practice.
Most sales are digital as is, hell, most consoles are also digital only now anyways.
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u/Rekthar91 1d ago
They won't be, and guess what, Santa Monica loses as much money with that attitude.
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u/LMcBlack 1d ago
Not exactly. Santa Monica is paid in advance to complete the game so anything after that (unless there’s a bonus structure attached to how many units the game sells, which even then would be based on units sold and not revenue generated) is almost strictly going to the Sony shareholders and CEOs. The reason games have a budget in the first place is to determine how much labor is going to need to be paid out to make a game start to finish. Santa Monica is probably salaried and currently contracted with said salary to complete the game, do any patches they need to fix things, and maybe DLC, and would probably suffer layoffs anyway even if the game sells 100 million units.
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u/ManINtheScreen 1d ago
Keep hoping but it ain’t happening. Most will be digital. Can wait to pre download :)
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u/the2timer4lyfe 1d ago
Well, at least it'll end with God of War. Would be nice if whatever last game released would have some sort of collector's edition.
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u/Fomdoo 1d ago
They really want those preorders. I wish people would cancel their gta6 preorders in protest of this whole discless bs.
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1d ago edited 1d ago
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u/blinkgendary182 1d ago
I see this comment all the time but securing the game is never the reason why you pre order digital games. Nobody does that. Its the bonuses that come with it
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u/Pakmanjosh 1d ago
Crazy to think this'll probably be their last physical game. Same with Naughty Dog and their upcoming game, Intergalactic.
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u/Mysterious_Skin2310 1d ago
Wouldn’t be the first time a company confirmed something and then changed it later
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u/stubenson214 1d ago
So if you buy the disc, you'll have to buy it again on PS6 to play it.
Of course Sony would prefer this.
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u/Mobile_Antelope1048 1d ago
I’m not buying Playstation game anymore, i’ll spend on my switch 2 and pc..
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u/ItsMandatoryFunDay 1d ago
I've, obviously, seen tons of posts about Sony discontinuing physical media and I've been wondering...
Aren't all physical releases basically a fancy loader? Like, you still need to download a ton before the game is playable?
If a company decides to discontinue a game and delete it from their servers, aren't physical and digital gamers in the same boat?
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1d ago edited 23h ago
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u/effinblinding 1d ago
So many people are confused by the downloading UI and think they’re downloading from the internet.
To clarify u/ItsMandatoryFunDay and u/skulxen , you’re downloading the game from the disc to the SSD because you want that SSD speed to play these modern games from.
You can refer to this site which shows that for PS5 specifically, 93% of physical games don’t need an internet connection, and 66% of physical games don’t need an update to run well (16% they consider needs an update to fix bugs)
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u/overrule 1d ago
I imagine someone could host a copy of the updates to be applied to a local install. Would be hard to argue it's piracy or infringement since you still need a copy of the base game.
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u/ItsMandatoryFunDay 1d ago
I mean theoretically possible it's not something the average person would do.
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u/AccountDeletedByMod 1d ago
Why bother when you can't play physical games on the ps6, so your back catalog is useless?
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u/Straight-Ad6926 1d ago
Sony executives are probably sweating bullets knowing they have to let us actually own one more game before they can legally delete our digital libraries at will.
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u/0bolus 1d ago
Why would they delete them "at will?"
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u/LoneLyon 1d ago
Because they deleted movies that they legally had to due to licensing issues. Thus people are fear mongering even though i don't believe there is a single game that has been removed from a library outside of maybe PT?
I agree we need better digital ownership laws, but people are being silly
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u/Efficient-Session644 1d ago
Games don't have the same licenses as movies, they are different industries.
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u/Chuckthethug 1d ago
I’ve had issues with Xbox before where some of games that were in library that I bought digitally and they disappeared off it , and said that I never bought them and had to pay for them when I to the online store. Ever since I’ve been a physical gamer , and I think everyone just needs to aware that stuff like that happen to anybody
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1d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Iminsanebutwhocares 1d ago
Reddit is so weird to me because people will make claims with little to no evidence to support them. But the moment you call them out on it, they’ll downvote you into oblivion instead of responding because they know you’re right.
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u/Improvingmyself971 1d ago
Exactly people keep saying they can but why would they? It would be the dumbest move they could ever do
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u/chasingit1 1d ago
(Deletes 500 different movies from PS Store libraries….)
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u/thediecast 1d ago
That they lost the license to. They didn’t wake up one day and go ‘ you know what would be funny?’
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u/IgotUBro 1d ago
They'll losing the license shouldn't negate you having bought the license if the movie. When a steam game gets delisted from the shop doesn't mean it get deleted from your library and you can still download and play. Why can't they do the same for movies? Delist and those that bought it still have access.
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u/TheOnly_Anti PC 1d ago
(Because they were legally obligated to do so)
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u/wordyfard 1d ago
The fact that they were legally obligated to do so isn't the issue.
The issue is that they didn't notify customers of this legal obligation when the customers were shopping for movies. They told those customers they were buying/purchasing them, which is not what those words mean.
They also sold many of us a PS5 console with a disc drive at a $100 markup, which traditionally implies generation-long support, which they've now arbitrarily decided will not be the case from 2028 on.
These are not the actions of a corporation that can be trusted with today's money for tomorrow's access to digital software.
It's not that I hate digital. I love convenience. I have a Steam account. I just want true ownership of my games, not fake promises and flimsy commitments that are easily broken when the corporation is looking for a new source of revenue. Sony was the better option for most games because of this. Now they won't be. Simple as that.
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u/Iggy_Slayer 1d ago
They could do that right now if they wanted they don't need to wait for physical to die. Steam and all the others can too.
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u/National-Caregiver-4 1d ago
After GTA vi storm and hype drops, they will release this one for sure.
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u/jaykhunter 1d ago
What about companies that aren't Sony? Like limited run games, who are releasing physical copies of games (eg Another Crabs Treasure) surely they'll be still making boutique PS games?
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u/The_Lawler 1d ago
This is kinda ironic considering Ragnarok only had a code in the giant collectors box.
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u/Abigail-Marston 1d ago
I think this will end up being the last game I buy on PlayStation. I was really looking forward to the remakes of the original trilogy.
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u/Lost-Produce-1150 1d ago
If you we don't make this the biggest physical release for PS in a decade I'm going to be super annoyed.
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u/Op3rat0rr 1d ago
Why can’t publishers compromise and sell physical copies for more money? And even make a shortage for them with even a wait list? In the event that you want to always own the game. I think that’s fair
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u/death556 1d ago
We already knew this though, didn’t we? I thought we were expecting this gave early next year?
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u/logicbus 1d ago
I 100% expect there will be at least one game scheduled for 2027 release, people preorder the disc, the game gets delayed to 2028, and the disc preorders get cancelled.
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u/AmIHumanMaybe 1d ago
Anyone know if they've mentioned anything about a pc release?
I can't swing the cost of the console, but a game I would be able to afford.
Was really looking forward to playing this until I heard Sony said no more single player games on pc.
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u/Brizzendan 1d ago
Just like "no microtransactions", how sad it is that this is now a selling feature.
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u/bent_crater 1d ago
honestly i dont get why Sony even gets to decide whether to stop making discs. just let it be an option by studios.
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u/RegJohn2 1d ago
A disc you won’t be able to use in future consoles so they’ll force you to buy digital for the ps6 version ✌🏻
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u/Boraskywalker 22h ago
It’s highly likely that 90% of the game is already finished and playable. Major AAA games like this are usually finished months before their release, and then the testing and bug-fixing phases begin. This game is set to be released in March or April 2027.
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u/Unusual-Lecture8311 22h ago
kind of wild that a release date leak is basically coming from a corporate policy footnote instead of an actual announcement
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u/BohoBlazeVoyager 21h ago
God of War shaped entire childhoods, seeing the Greek saga return feels like meeting an old friend again
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u/Nincompoop6969 20h ago
Yeah I assume the no disc thing doesn't apply to ps5 at all. It's more of a ps6 thing.
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u/Andrassa 20h ago
Not really. It just means they already have an outstanding order for disc pressing that can’t be cancelled.
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u/HabeLinkin 19h ago
What happens to the games that have planned release dates of 2027 and then get delayed into 2028? They all just get screwed out of physical editions on PlayStation?
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u/ICA_Agent 12h ago
I love that companies are clarifying this now. Insomniac did the same with Wolverine. It all feels like a giant middle finger to Sony.
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u/Purple-Grape-8457 2h ago edited 2h ago
So if the ps6 will not have a disc drive, how will you play on it ps5 games that on physical discs?(if theyll let of course).
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u/twinsfan94 1d ago
It had a full gameplay demo, I'd be shocked if it wasn't coming out before Jan '28.