PlayStation asks developers about physical game sales after backlash over discs

• The questionnaire is said to be tied to Sony’s move away from physical discs and the backlash that followed.
• In a post by Gene Park, the survey was described as larger than almost any previous Sony survey, according to his contacts.

What happened

IGN reported on September 24, 2026 that PlayStation had sent a lengthy questionnaire to game developers about how physical games are sold. The report links the move to Sony’s decision to scale back physical game discs, a decision IGN says drew backlash. The coverage does not include an official confirmation from Sony, nor does it publish a document or screenshot of the survey.

The information did not come directly from Sony. Tom, speaking on the Broken Silicon Podcast, said according to IGN that his contacts told him Sony had sent an unusually large survey to developers. In that account, the questionnaire was said to be indirectly asking whether there is a problem with how games are sold physically. The podcast source is therefore presented in the reporting as secondhand information, not primary confirmation.

Gene Park shared a similar reading on X. In the cited post, he said Sony had sent a survey to developers that, according to his contacts, was larger than nearly all previous Sony surveys, with a question along the lines of: is there a problem with how games are sold physically? That wording matters because it suggests the question was framed indirectly rather than literally.

The available sources do not state the exact size of the survey, the list of recipients, or when it was sent. It is also not confirmed whether the questionnaire went only to first-party studios, external partners, or a broader group of developers and publishers. Sony has not provided an official response in the material supplied here. It is also not confirmed what exact questions were included or how the answers would be used.

Background

The reporting fits into a broader debate about the future of physical PlayStation releases. IGN ties the survey to Sony’s shift away from discs for new PlayStation games, but the available sources do not fully confirm the scope of that strategy. The source set does reference earlier IGN reporting saying Sony’s decision to end physical releases led to negative reactions from third parties, but that information is also based on reporting rather than a direct Sony statement.

The core of the reported conversation is that Sony is asking developers for feedback on physical sales at a time when the market is moving further toward digital distribution. The external context included with the article also points to an IGN piece about U.S. PlayStation sales data, where digital sales dominance is central. That supports the broader market context, but it does not prove Sony sent the survey for that reason.

The source set also includes a YouTube video from Moore’s Law Is Dead titled "Open Slideshow" and a description summarizing the survey as a long questionnaire about physical game sales after backlash. That description aligns with the IGN report, but the title itself adds no further details. Gene Park’s X post is more specific, since it says his contacts described a larger-than-usual Sony survey and an indirect question about whether there is a problem with physical sales.

What remains unclear is whether Sony actually sent a broad survey, how many developers received it, and whether the questionnaire was part of a formal review of its physical-disc strategy. It is also unclear whether the reported backlash came mainly from developers, consumers, or both. Until Sony provides its own explanation, the reporting remains dependent on secondhand sources and social posts.

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Sources

• IGN: "PlayStation reportedly polling game developers after decision to kill discs sparks backlash" — September 24, 2026
• Broken Silicon Podcast, with Tom as a source in IGN’s reporting
• X post by Gene Park, cited in the source set