Do not buy digital media from Sony (PlayStation)
Sony is deleting media purchased by their customers worldwide. Here’s from Techspot, “Sony is deleting 551 movies and TV shows you bought on PlayStation, because you don’t really own your digital purchases” (June 28th 2026):
Sony is proving once again that “you will own nothing, and you will be happy.” The company is purging hundreds of movie and TV show titles due to vague and unexplained licensing issues. Users who have “purchased” any of this content will soon no longer have access to it.
Sony has confirmed that it will remove 551 movies and TV series from the PlayStation Store in the UK on September 1, 2026. The content will also be simultaneously deleted from customers’ libraries who have already purchased it. Sony did not mention anything about refunds, suggesting affected users will not be compensated financially.
In a message on the official PlayStation UK website, the Japanese electronics giant stated that all Studio Canal content will be removed after the two companies failed to renew their licensing agreement.
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In 2022, the company removed 314 titles in Germany and 137 in Austria. Sony also wiped out more than 1300 seasons of Discovery TV shows in 2023, affecting thousands of gamers who had previously purchased the content on the PlayStation Store. The deleted titles included many notable shows, such as Shark Week, American Chopper, Deadliest Catch, How It’s Made, Cake Boss, and MythBusters.
And now they’re on a path to completely get rid of physical media, for example when it comes to games for their PlayStation console. Here’s from IGN, “Sony Just Killed Discs: Physical Disc Production to End January 2028 for New Games Releasing on PlayStation Consoles” (July 1st 2026):
Sony has announced physical disc production ends in January 2028 for new games releasing on PlayStation consoles.
It’s a shock announcement that follows Rockstar’s decision not to sell a physical disc version of GTA 6, which is expected to dominate console game sales from this November onwards. This new policy will cover all games released on PlayStation consoles from all publishers after this cut-off date, which some analysts believe hints at when the PS6 will be released.
“In response to shifting trends in consumer preference, new games will be released on PlayStation Store and at retailers in digital formats only,” Sid Shuman, Senior Director, Sony Interactive Entertainment Content Communications, said in a post on PlayStation Blog.
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“As consumer preferences and the broader entertainment industry continue to shift away from physical discs to digital, physical game disc production for all new games releasing on PlayStation consoles will be discontinued starting January 2028. Following this date, new games will be available on PlayStation Store and at retailers in digital formats only.
This is the same Sony, by the way, that back in 2013 mocked Microsoft in a video showing how you can share your games with friends by lending them your physical disc in the ‘Official PlayStation “Sharing Used Games” Instructional Video’. Now they’re getting rid of physical media, eliminating the often much cheaper secondhand market and giving them a monopoly via their PlayStation store which will enable them to charge even more money for games in the future.
This is why I don’t like to buy digital media, especially not when has DRM that limits where and how you can use it. Once you ‘bought’ that content and you think you own it, these companies can revoke your access to that content at any time for whatever reason. For example, in the case of Sony, here’s from VGTimes, “Sony Can Now Delete Inactive PSN Accounts After 36 Months — All Digital Games Lost Permanently” (July 5th 2026):
Sony updated the PlayStation Network Terms of Service in April 2026, introducing a rule that allows the company to delete accounts that have been inactive for 36 months. If you do not use your PSN account for three years, Sony may begin the process of closing it, putting your entire digital library at risk.
The process begins with an email notification sent to the account holder. After receiving this warning, users have a six-month window to log in or confirm that they wish to keep their account active. If no action is taken within this period, Sony will permanently terminate access to all PlayStation Network services tied to the account.
Once an account is deleted, all digital content associated with it — including purchased games, DLC, and in-game items — will be lost forever. This action is irreversible, and there is no way to recover any lost content after the account has been closed.
Similarly, Amazon has been removing books that people bought on their Kindle as well. Back in 2009 they famously quietly removed the book ‘1984’ from the Kindle.
Apart from that, accounts get banned or deleted by Big Tech all the time even when you’ve done nothing wrong. There are many stories online of people who have lost their Microsoft, Google, Facebook and X (Twitter) accounts for example because their account got flagged by an AI system. When that happens, everything connecting to those accounts gets lost forever.
Do not buy a Sony PlayStation
These companies like to complain about digital piracy, but this is why piracy is still the better choice. It’s a serious risk to have your own created content, or content you bought, hosted or stored online at any of these companies. The best thing is to always store all your content locally so that you have full control over it. This means being able to download a DRM-free copy of the content that can be used offline without restrictions and within needing an Internet connection.
For example, when it comes to books, when I buy them on Amazon, I always make sure that I can either download a copy for offline use either in EPUB or PDF format or can somehow get rid of their DRM and convert the books to PDF. And for music and movies I do the same. For games, I try to buy them at online stores that make sure you can copy and play the games offline (DRM-free) without needing an Internet connection, such as GoG.
If after the above you still buy digital media or a PlayStation from Sony, you’ll have nobody to blame for your stupidity but yourself.
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