Sony Japan has officially discontinued its last standalone 4K Blu-ray player, the UBP-X700/K, and has stopped selling new standalone Blu-ray players in the Japanese market. Although Sony continues to offer the PS5 console, which supports Blu-ray playback, expectations are high that the upcoming PS6 will no longer feature an optical drive, reflecting the ongoing decline of the physical disc market. Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) has announced that, starting from January 2028, new games on the PlayStation platform will be distributed exclusively in digital format, with no further production of physical game discs. However, this move will not impact previously released physical games, nor does it signal a complete cessation of Blu-ray disc production by Sony.

The shrinking Blu-ray player market is not exclusive to Sony; LG ended its related production in 2024, and other manufacturers are also realigning their business strategies accordingly. Nevertheless, brands like Panasonic persist in selling Blu-ray players. Physical discs afford users the ability to possess an independent playback medium, presenting a distinct advantage over streaming services, which are contingent upon licensing agreements, service continuity, and network availability. Looking ahead, the array of choices for audio-visual collection and playback devices may continue to narrow.