Sony stops making new 4K Blu-ray players, confirming that the PS6 isn't the limit

Sony's not making any new 4K Blu-ray players moving forward, it's being reported, in a move that confirms its likely plans for a disc-less PlayStation 6 aren't the limit of its thoughts on the future of physical media.

The reports come out of the Japanese media, as picked up by Push Square, and are backed up by the fact that Sony's UBP-X700/K player is out of stock, with no word at all about any more stock coming in.

Sony hasn't made any comment yet, but given its quiet approach to the unpopular decision to end physical production of game discs for PlayStation, I wouldn't hold your breath for any statement.

The move will rightly worry those of us who are fans of physical media, not because Sony had so huge a presence in the 4K Blu-ray player market (which is rightly dominated by Panasonic), but more because it's a sign of the way the wind is blowing. If Panasonic were to now pull back from its players, things would be even more worrying.

Sony announced earlier this year that it would end physical production of game discs starting in January 2028, and it's hard not to see this as part of the same broad strategy. It's seemingly trying to get ahead of the curve on the slow decline of physical ownership, but that feels a bit like jumping the gun from where we're standing. The move also means a disc-less base PS6 is all but guaranteed at this point.

I have a 4K Blu-ray player attached to my TV, in the form of the Panasonic DP-UB820, and I wouldn't trade it for anything (except perhaps the ultra-premium DP-UB9000). Its picture quality, codec support, and sound are all pretty stunning, but in some ways they're beside the point.

The real reason I've fallen in love with 4K Blu-rays is that I actually own the films in question, with no asterisks. We've all seen stories of de-listed movies that people thought they owned digitally, and I've got no interest in being shafted the same way.

Two years ago, though, I would have thought we had a good long while before discs were under threat like this. Given that Sony also happens to manufacture a heap of discs itself still, including for the likes of the Walt Disney Company, I'm starting to feel a little shakier about the future of the whole market.

For now, I'll take comfort in the fact that millions of people have a UHD player in their living room in the form of a PlayStation 5. Whether they really appreciate it for that part of its arsenal is anyone's guess, though.