PlayStation Fans Begin Week-Long Boycott Over End Of Physical Games
The effort is being spearheaded by DoesItPlay, which is dedicated to game preservation by “testing physical video games and hardware completely offline to inform you about issues that can make them unusable now and in the future.” The organization is asking PlayStation gamers to avoid using their consoles between August 23 to August 30, including not logging in, not playing any games, and not buying anything from its digital store.
Sony wants to abandon fans? Let's give them a small taste of their own medicine! Together with other creators we call for a 1 week #PSBlackout in August. No logins, no play sessions, no purchases on any of Sony's platforms.
— Does it play? (@doesitplay.org) July 26, 2026 at 1:00 PM
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The reason this particular week was chosen is because of the belief that it would minimize the harm to developers and publishers, as it’s a bit of sleepy week in terms of new releases. Although it’s understandable that the group doesn’t want to harm game makers, choosing a time where it minimizes damage to them also likely means minimizing damage to Sony, which might blunt the effect of the blackout, especially if the company knows everyone will back to gaming like usual once the week is out.
A real effort that might genuinely make Sony reconsider the planned shutdown of the infrastructure involved with manufacturing game discs would be to go for the jugular, Grand Theft Auto VI. It’s the game that’s supposed to save the gaming industry and a be a revenue generating juggernaut for every company involved, including Sony. Putting a significant dent in preorders would send a strong message that would be much harder to ignore.
Time will tell if this weeklong blackout will have any effect of Sony’s plans, but the reality is that the future is going to be all-digital whether we like it or not.
