Sony Just Delivered the Latest Gut Punch to Blu-ray Collectors

It’s another sore day for physical-media fans. That’s because, after an 18-year run, Sony has decided to stop producing recordable Blu-ray discs.

In an announcement first spotted by Tom’s Hardware, the Japanese media giant revealed that it will cease its Blu-ray disc production by February 2025.

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A silver lining?

The news means that it will be more challenging to buy recordable Blu-ray discs, which have been used in the past for film archiving and collecting. While Sony is exiting stage left, a few companies — such as Panasonic and Verbatim — continue to sell blank Blu-ray discs.

The silver lining, at least for now, is that studios will continue to sell Blu-ray discs of your favorite movies and shows … although buying those is becoming increasingly more difficult, too.

In 2024, Best Buy stopped selling all forms of physical media. Target also revealed that it will stop selling Blu-rays and DVDs in its stores by 2025. On the flip side, Walmart and Amazon are the biggest retailers that still sell the physical-media format.

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A downward trend

While a lot of music-related physical media is experiencing some renaissance — vinyl being the most obvious example, but there’s been a slight uptick in year-over-year sales of CD sales, too — the same can’t be said about for movies and shows. DVD and Blu-ray sales fell 26 percent last year.

The Sony announcement is just the latest gut punch for Blu-ray fans. It comes on the back of LG revealing that it’s not making new Blu-ray players anymore, joining the likes of Samsung and Opp. Sony also announced that its next gaming console, the PS5 Pro, would not have a disc drive — it’s digital only.

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Down … but not out

Of course, the appeal of Blu-rays is still there. They deliver the best possible visual and audio experience — especially with 4K Ultra HD Blu-rays — so cinephiles still swear by them. And like other physical media, they’re collectible.

And we see subtle reminders of this from time to time. Like when Blu-ray sales temporarily spiked when big films, like Oppenheimer or Dune 2, were released. Or, after the PlayStation 5 Pro announcement, when the PS5 Disc Drive (a detachable disc drive accessory) sold out everywhere.

Though the signs are troubling, physical media is still far from dead.

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