Sony is winding down its PlayStation disc production in Europe. Its factory in Thalgau, Austria, once a disc powerhouse, is being repurposed to produce optical microlenses instead.
The Thalgau plant churns out 600,000 discs daily. Half of those discs are PlayStation game discs. This volume will drop sharply. By 2028, Sony expects disc production there to fall to just 10% of today’s output.
Sony has invested €30 million ($34 million) into this transformation. The investment covers new manufacturing technology to support optical microlens production. Mass production of these microlenses could start as early as next year.
Optical microlenses are tiny components that focus and direct light in very small spaces. Markus Streibl, who leads Micro Optics at Sony DADC, explains these lenses serve to miniaturize optical systems. This is a strategic pivot away from physical media toward optics technology.
Sony’s move is no surprise. It stopped making recordable Blu-ray discs in January 2025 and discontinued Blu-ray recorder hardware the following month. Digital sales now dominate. About 80% of PlayStation purchases are digital, while physical game sales have tanked—from $11.5 billion in 2009 to just $1.6 billion last year in the US.
Dietmar Tanzer, CEO of Sony DADC, confirms disc production will shrink drastically. The company announced on July 1, 2026, that after 2027, PlayStation will no longer release physical games. The Thalgau factory, which absorbed all production from Terre Haute, Indiana in 2022, is gearing up for this new chapter.
Employees at Thalgau have begun retraining for optical microlens manufacturing. The shift reflects Sony’s acknowledgment that physical discs are becoming obsolete in gaming. The company has produced over 26.4 billion discs to date, including 23 billion at Terre Haute alone from 1983 to 2022.
Sony’s investment signals a broader industry trend—digital distribution is swallowing physical media. The Thalgau plant’s pivot to optical components illustrates how hardware manufacturers must adapt or fall behind. Optical microlenses may not excite gamers, but they represent Sony’s bet on the future of hardware beyond discs.
Based on
- Sony already invested $34 million to repurpose its EU PlayStation disc factory — engadget.com
- Sony Repurposes PlayStation Disc Factory – Newsy Today — newsy-today.com
- Sony won’t U-turn on PS5 discs as its factory is already making something else | Metro News — metro.co.uk
- Many hope Sony reconsiders the end of the disc again, but a factory in Austria shows that it might already be too late — mein-mmo.de
- Sony Just Put Another Nail in Physical Games’ Coffin by Repurposing Its Disc Factory: ‘A Direct Impact on Production’ | The Nerd Stash — thenerdstash.com
