Sony has started reorganising its largest disc manufacturing plant, in Thalgau, Austria, as it prepares for the end of physical discs for new PlayStation games.
The factory
The Thalgau plant, run by Sony DADC, has pressed PlayStation discs, Blu-rays and CDs for many years. It currently produces around 600,000 discs a day, roughly half of them PlayStation games.
Sony has announced that from January 2028 it will stop producing discs for new PlayStation titles, so demand for game discs from the plant is expected to fall sharply.
No job losses
The roughly 300 employees at the plant will keep their jobs. Instead of pressing discs, many will be retrained to work in a new division producing optical microlenses.
Sony has invested about €30 million in new equipment at Thalgau to prepare for the change.
What are microlenses?
Microlenses are tiny lenses that control light very precisely in small spaces. They are used, for example, in car lights that can project signals onto the road and in compact cameras and sensors. Markus Streibl, who leads Sony’s micro-optics team, says the technology has strong potential for growth, which is why the company is investing in it.
Discs will not disappear overnight
The plant will continue to press some discs after 2028, including for games already released on disc and for other media, but the volume will be much lower.
Players’ concerns
Many players have criticised the move towards digital-only games. They worry about:
- losing the ability to buy, sell or lend second-hand games;
- greater dependence on digital stores, where prices are set by the platform holder;
- what happens to their games if titles are removed from stores or accounts are lost.
Sony’s investment in Thalgau suggests the company is committed to its digital strategy, but the transition is also a reminder that the end of physical games affects not only players but the factories and workers that have produced them for decades.
