Rumors tend to spread like wildfire on social media, especially when they’re something that people want to hear. That’s recently been the case with a claim out of Gamescom that PlayStation’s announced policy to end physical disc production in 2028 may be on shaky ground, and could be on the verge of reversal.

Among the claims are the following:

Claim : Microsoft is telling publishers its next console, Project Helix, will be entirely physical and allow players to convert games to physical copies.

Facts : Microsoft has broadcast its upcoming disc-to-digital plans, but has not announced, nor really even hinted about Project Helix being “entirely physical,” a phrase that doesn’t even make sense as there will obviously be digital SKUs. In addition to this, it’s been confirmed that Project Helix is a family of consoles, and a priority for Microsoft is to drive down hardware costs, where attaching a physical disc drive to a unit seems, at the very least, unlikely.

Claim : A major unnamed publisher (confirmed not to be Rockstar) is threatening to skip PlayStation and release only on Xbox and Nintendo if Sony doesn’t give them a physical release.

Facts : Like all of these claims, sourcing from MP1st/a Eurogamer Spain podcast is shaky at best, and are said to be “gathered from the show floor” at Gamescom. Here, the clarification that it’s not Rockstar is very funny, given that Rockstar has very loudly and publicly declared that GTA 6 will not be released on disc on either PlayStation or Xbox. It is also unlikely some big game would skip PlayStation, which dwarfs Xbox in market share, because of the disc position. If that’s an attempt to play hardball, it’s a laughable notion that it would work.

FEATURED | Frase By Forbes ™

Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase

Claim : Publishers are annoyed with Sony about the move to digital, which takes their own preferences out of the equation.

Facts : Well, this obviously can’t be confirmed for almost all publishers, but there is an interesting note about The Witcher 4’s CDPR, though you can decide whether they come across as “annoyed” or not.

“We’re big fans of people having access to tangible collectible things," said joint-CEO Michał Nowakowski. "We’re nerds ourselves, and we like that. We always supported that. So, whatever is the case, we’re going to be for sure having a box. We’re going to have a box that’s going to have some feelies in it. Something you’re going to be wanting to open up and enjoy. But we have no influence actually on what’s the case here."

He adds that they can’t change "the policies of the first parties,” but it does seem like if it were up to CDPR, it would, in fact produce a disc for PlayStation copies of The Witcher 4 and its future games. It is reasonable to imagine other developers could have that position.

Claim : PlayStation is panicking about the reception to the disc announcement and has to rethink all of its marketing going forward for the brand.

Facts : If you go back in history to the biggest fan-hated decisions in PlayStation history, this disc elimination does seem like the most forceful anger the brand has endured, that is true. And it is plausible, though not confirmed, that PlayStation could be rethinking its marketing, though likely not the policy, given that everything it posts is now plastered with pro-disc messaging no matter what it is.

So, what are the odds that PlayStation reverses course here? My opinion? It still seems extremely unlikely, even if consumers are mad, even if publishers could be annoyed. This is not something like pricing the PS3 too high and knocking it down a short while later. This has to do with the entire future of its hardware ecosystem, which includes everything from the design of the PS6 to what components its own factories are still making. Would Sony be willing to commit an entirely new generation, which at this point is going to last 7-8 years, to physical discs when the percentage of physical buyers gets smaller and smaller every year? It seems improbable.

It does seem, however, that Xbox is trying to use this as a wedge issue. The “entirely physical” claim has no confirmed basis, but the middle-ground answer here appears to be the disc-to-digital idea that is winning over fans, even if it ends up that no, the next Xbox unit will not have split digital and disc SKUs.

It’s complicated, but I don’t think Sony is going to reverse this decision. It’s too big a move, and it’s rapidly getting too late to do so.

PlayStation has not commented on the claim, as of yet.

Follow me on Twitter , YouTube , and Instagram .

Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy .