Physical Media Is Making a Comeback. The Next Console Generation Might Kill It

We all know next-generation consoles are in the works. Yes, we’re six years into the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, largely due to component shortages and cost spikes from AI demands on the wider tech sector, but Sony has already teased a “future console” in the next few years, and Microsoft confirmed the next Xbox is codenamed Project Helix, likely due in 2028.

Gamers can probably expect all of the standard customary upgrades—faster processors, more powerful GPUs, more storage, all if component supplies and manufacturing capacities allow for them. But there’s one feature both Sony and Microsoft absolutely must keep, whatever the next gen ends up looking like: the not-so-humble 4K Blu-ray disc drive.

Keep It Old School

This might seem an odd argument to make. After all, both companies seem to have been retreating from discs since day one of the current generation. Both the Xbox Series S and the PS5 Digital Edition lack a disc drive, and Sony even dropped the feature from the more powerful PS5 Pro—though both that and the Digital model can be upgraded with the sold-separately disc drive peripheral.

Already, many “on disc” releases contain only an installation pack or bearer token for a digital version of the game, much like the Nintendo Switch 2’s Game Key cards, as file sizes exceed even the 100 GB of data that can be stored on a triple-layer 4K Blu-ray. For collectors or fans of physical media, the direction of travel already looks depressing.

However, there are plenty of reasons why both manufacturers should cling to a disc drive. The most obvious is to support backward compatibility with older games, a hugely attractive feature for console owners. Both businesses recognize this, and both support older disc games as well as digital versions. Xbox takes a more tailored approach to backward compatibility, though, giving players access to select games from every console generation back to the 2001 original. Recently, Jason Ronald, vice president of Next Generation at Xbox, said Microsoft is “committed to keeping games from four generations of Xbox playable for years to come” with Project Helix, which is good news, even if he stopped short of confirming support for disc-based games on the machine.

Meanwhile, the PS5 supports all but a tiny handful of PS4 games. Earlier PlayStation games are locked out—the PS3’s infamously unorthodox “Cell” processor still proves an obstacle to supporting its games on newer hardware, while PS2 and PS1 discs haven’t been playable on any console later than the original “fat” PS3 model. If the PS6 kept a disc drive and cracked that problem, even if by simply having enough raw power to brute force the processing for those tricky PS3-era games, there’s a legion of PlayStation fans who’d be extremely excited.

The biggest argument in favor of keeping the 4K disc drive isn’t to do with games at all, though. Instead, it’s that for many owners, a PS5 or Xbox Series X is the best, most accessible option for owning a disc player of any kind nowadays—and contrary to perceived wisdom, physical media is currently enjoying something of a resurgence.

Retro Revival

It’s easy to presume that all physical media is dead, and there’s no denying the entire sector is struggling. By some metrics, it really does appear to be game over—for film and TV, streaming services still have the lion’s share of eyeballs, video games are overwhelmingly digitally distributed, and the majority of music is consumed digitally, despite the huge resurgence of vinyl record sales.

Yet even as digital media appears to dominate every piece of entertainment we consume, sales of 4K UHD Blu-rays specifically are actually growing. According to research from the Digital Entertainment Group (DEG), as noted by FlatPanelsHD, sales of the disc format rose in the US in 2025, climbing 12 percent on 2024’s sales figures and marking the first uptick in years.