<img src="https://comicvibe.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/hero-image.fit_lim.v1794261102.png" alt="PS5 dualsense controller“>
A loose <a href="https://comicvibe.com/gta-6-preloading-is-live-heres-how-to-install-the-game-on-playstation-and-xbox/” title=”GTA 6 Preloading Is Live. Here's How to Install the Game on PlayStation and Xbox”>PlayStation blackout protesting Sony’s plan to drop physical games seems to have had little impact on PlayStation usage stats or Sony’s business.
In August, a group called Does It Play? asked gamers to turn off their consoles, log out of PlayStation Network, and forgo any digital purchases for one week. The hope was for this blackout to pressure Sony to reconsider its plan to stop making physical game discs in January 2028.
A couple of weeks later, Mat Piscatella, senior director and video game industry advisor at the market research firm Circana, said the protest triggered “no significant change at all in player count or engagement.” Now, Sony’s Q3 financial results back up Piscatella’s claim: PlayStation had 127 million monthly active users, up 2 million from the last quarter and 8 million from the same time last year. Digital full-game purchases rose from last year’s 72% to 78% of full-game sales.
There are a few possible explanations for the blackout’s inefficacy. One is that the timing was poor: It coincided with Gamescom, the world’s largest annual video game event, making it difficult for PS5 users notto get at least a little bit hyped about games. (Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, Star Wars Zero Company, and Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2 all came out at the end of August.) A one-week blackout also doesn’t necessarily remove players from monthly active user counts. Finally, not everyone uses the social media platforms where these protests are typically planned; even fewer may be willing to ditch their console for a week.
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