Sony is converting a factory in Austria that produces hundreds of thousands of physical discs every month into a micro optics plant, according to ORF Salzburg, which is Austria's national public broadcaster. The transition signals that Sony's controversial and wildly unpopular decision to phase out physical game discs for its PlayStation consoles is final.

Starting in January 2028, new PlayStation games at the PlayStation Store and at retailers will be offered in digital formats only, Sony announced this week. The company claims the decision is rooted in "consumer preference" as well as a broader shift in the entertainment industry, the latter of which is more accurate than the former.

One need only spend a few minutes on social media to see Sony getting clowned by furious fans and companies alike, such as this post by Domino's Pizza (UK account):

Beyond the online mocking, some companies are taking action that fly in the face of Sony's decision to kill physical media on game consoles. For example, GitHub, which is owned by Microsoft, has begun offering copies of GitHub repos on CD to the first 1,000 eligible submissions.

"Order a burned CD of your own public GitHub repo. Yes, a real physical disc you can hold in your hands, no download required. This is a limited run, so signing up doesn't guarantee one. If we can make you a CD, it may take a few weeks to reach you," GitHub states.

Sony appears unfazed by it all. The plant that is being converted in Austria currently churns out 600,000 discs per month, half of which are for PlayStation games. According to the report, the factory employs 300 workers, all of which it hopes to retrain and ultimately retain once the conversion to a micro optics plant is complete. So at least there is a silver lining in this mess.

To be fair, Sony is not solely to blame for the perceived death of physical media, though it is certainly hammering yet another nail its coffin, hence the heat it is catching. Take-Two Interactive (publisher) and Rockstar Games (developer) are accelerating the transition as well by limiting Grand Theft Auto VI, the most anticipated video game ever, to digital only. Even those who purchase a so-called physical copy will not receive a disc—they will get a GTA VI case with a download code inside.

All the same, Sony's factory conversion is a sobering confirmation that no matter how loud the outcry, the transition to an all-digital future is probably inevitable. Or is it? Microsoft and Xbox, what say you...