The Vergecast
The Vergecast

The video game disc is dead

July 2, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

The video game disc is dead

Sony announced it will stop producing PlayStation discs entirely by January 2028. Microsoft is testing a feature that would let you attach a digital game to a disc, then hand the disc off to someone else while the digital license moves with it — a system Tom Warren reported on that sounds, as David Pierce put it, "like a weird bad idea that probably won't work as well as it's supposed to." The overwhelming direction is clear: everything is going digital, and discs are done.

But the conversation on this episode of The Vergecast goes much deeper than that announcement. The hosts argue that the death of the disc is really just making explicit what has been true for years. "Even when you buy a thing, you put the disc in, and the first thing it does is immediately download several dozen gigabytes of more game," Pierce says. "The idea that you can buy the game as a sort of perfectly preserved object on a disc kind of hasn't been true for a while." The shift makes plain what players have been living with: you pay $80 and in a very real way do not own the game. Libraries of physical media that people like Chris Grant have built over decades are essentially impossible to recreate now. "We all sort of exist at the whim of like whether Nintendo feels like putting the game that I like onto its online service that I have to pay extra for," Pierce says. "And t

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (04:16) **The End of Game Discs and the State of Gaming** - Sony will stop producing PlayStation discs by 2028; Microsoft tests digitizing disc-based games. The hosts discuss what this means for game ownership and preservation.
  • 2 (09:07) **The Failed Live-Service Gold Rush** - The industry's cynical pivot to live-service games and shopping-mall monetization has largely failed, leaving only Fortnite, Roblox, and Minecraft standing.
  • 3 (11:30) **Microsoft Xbox Layoffs and Strategic Uncertainty** - Tom Warren reports major layoffs across the Xbox team; the hosts debate whether Microsoft is trimming Xbox to sell it or to refocus it.
  • 4 (17:36) **Console Sales Hit Historic Lows** - PlayStation and Xbox hardware sales are at their lowest in decades, with rising prices and a lack of compelling new games creating a crisis.
  • 5 (24:38) **AI Gadgets and the Future of Coding Input** - OpenAI is building a macro keyboard for coding; the hosts debate whether AI will replace keyboards or just lock users into specific ecosystems.
  • 6 (33:02) **The Limits of AI: Models Don't Learn** - The hosts note a growing concession in the AI industry that models are static and cannot learn from mistakes, undermining the promise of self-improving AI.
  • 7 (39:50) **iPhone 18 Pro Leaks and Apple's 2026 Lineup** - A bizarre leak from a Tata Electronics breach shows the iPhone 18 Pro; the hosts speculate on Apple's future lineup: base, Air, foldable, and "monster" Pro.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Guests on this episode

David Pierce Nilay Patel Neil Gorsuch

Show Notes

Things don't look great for console and game makers right now. With Xbox and PlayStation sales flagging, Microsoft preparing for big layoffs in its gaming division, and the price of everything on the rise, maybe it makes sense to save money where you can. You know, like making discs? David and Nilay discuss the end of the physical video game, before wondering whether Microsoft might be getting ready to get rid of Xbox altogether. After that, they talk about the new wave of hardware for AI coders, and the ongoing attempt to replace your laptop keyboard with... something, plus the latest iPhone 18 rumors and leaks. Finally, it's time for the Hype Desk, Brendan Carr is a Dummy, some breaking SpaceX phone news, and some truly wild BMW headlights.


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