Backlash against Sony over PlayStation’s all-digital future gets louder — here’s how things could play out in court

With its decision to end the production of physical game discs for new PlayStation games in 2028, Sony is gearing up to cut out the secondary market entirely. That sets it up to be the ultimate gatekeeper for a walled garden of its own making, which has predictably led to quite a bit of backlash from gamers. It’s also attracting legal scrutiny from various consumer rights organizations and government officials globally.

However, we may already have a blueprint for how legal proceedings could play out — at least in the U.S. Epic’s long-running legal battles with Apple and Google over their alleged app store monopolies ultimately yielded mixed results, but they sought to challenge a similar set of problems that both consumers and developers will face when Sony shifts to all-digital distribution.

The Epic, Google and Apple of it all

In 2020, Epic deliberately set a trap for Apple and Google by pushing an update to Fortnite on iOS and Android that added a way to directly buy V-Bucks (the game’s in-game currency) from Epic. This bypassed Apple’s and Google’s payment systems, avoiding the 30% cut they take. Apple and Google responded by kicking Fortnite off their respective app stores, and Epic immediately filed lawsuits against both companies.

Without diving too deeply into the details of each lawsuit, Epic’s arguments boiled down to accusations that Apple and Google were using illegal, anticompetitive behaviors to maintain app store monopolies. Epic’s biggest complaint revolved around the 30% cut of sales each app store receives through its payment processing, arguing Google and Apple used unlawful tactics to obscure the fact that users could make purchases elsewhere — and often save money by doing so.

This is where Epic was most successful with its arguments, with the court ultimately ruling that Apple can’t restrict developers from offering links to purchases outside of the App Store’s confines. In the Google case, the verdict required Google to allow third-party app stores on Android — something it recently announced plans to do. Google also lowered service fees and allowed links to alternative payment methods.

Where Epic was much less successful was in proving that Apple holds a monopoly with the App Store. Apple argued that it competes broadly against Android and game consoles for customers, whereas Epic argued iOS was its own distinct market. Ultimately, Apple’s argument won.

What this could mean for Sony and PlayStation

Any antitrust cases brought over PlayStation going all-digital are likely to argue that Sony operates an illegal monopoly by limiting distribution through its own store. Not only does an all-digital pipeline save money on the production of physical discs, but Sony gets a cut of all sales, including DLC and in-game purchases.

Much like Apple, Sony could argue that it isn’t operating as a monopoly because it ultimately competes against Xbox, Nintendo and mobile platforms for gamers’ dollars. And with Apple’s case as precedent, it has a solid chance of succeeding. Besides, it’s unclear how an alternative game store would even work on a console if someone wanted to build one. The existence of multiple digital storefronts on PC (Steam, Epic Games Store, etc.) could offer a guide, but that would require forcing Sony to open the PlayStation platform far more than it is right now.

Where things get a little murkier is with payments. Ultimately, it likely depends on how restrictive Sony plans to be with sales of digital game codes. In its original announcement, Sony said, “We’ll continue to prioritize our resources to drive innovation in how players can access games and provide choices as to where players prefer to purchase new games, whether that’s at retailers or PlayStation Store.” That seems to indicate people will still be able to buy PlayStation games in retail stores, so it has a strong case that alternatives are still widely available (even if they must still be redeemed on the PlayStation Store).

However, it’s worth noting that Sony stopped allowing third-party stores to sell digital game codes in 2019. That’s currently still the case, even though Nintendo and Xbox both sell digital game codes at retail stores. Whether it’s a code in a box on a shelf (like with the upcoming GTA VI release) or cards with download codes, it appears Sony is set to allow digital sales at retail stores again.

Game preservation and price remain big concerns

While Epic’s fights with Apple and Google can offer some insight into how litigation might play out in the U.S., things may be different internationally. The European Union, in particular, has been aggressive in enforcing antitrust laws and pro-consumer regulations. Those include everything from common charger rules requiring consumer devices to have USB-C chargers to the Digital Markets Act, which has already been a source of contention with Apple.

However, major issues still loom over Sony’s decision to end disc production in 2028. Notably, a lack of physical media makes game preservation a serious concern, especially as Sony has shown it is willing to shut down digital storefronts for older consoles. Because digital purchases are ultimately just licenses to play a game, there’s also the lingering threat of Sony revoking licenses for games you’ve purchased — just as it recently did for more than 500 movies people had purchased through the PlayStation Store.

There’s also pricing to consider. The secondary market has always been a place for people on a budget to pick up games at solid discounts. Likewise, retailers also tend to hold more game sales than Sony does on the digital store. The result of going all-digital is that we could see gaming costs rise considerably, locking some people out of the hobby altogether. That’s not a great move at a time when all consumer electronics are experiencing major price hikes — including Sony’s own consoles.

While the spotlight has been on Sony throughout all of this, it’s worth mentioning that Xbox is working on a disc-to-digital feature that would let gamers digitize their physical game collections. It’s unclear whether Xbox plans to follow Sony’s lead in going all-digital, but giving consumers a way to keep playing their physical games in a disc-less future is at least one pro-consumer step I’d like to see Sony copy.