PS5 Standard or Digital Edition: do you still need a disc drive in 2026?

Choosing a PS5 starts with one question: with or without a disc drive? Both versions deliver exactly the same performance. What changes is the way you buy, lend and resell your games. And in 2026, the trend is very clear.

Same performance, one big difference

The PS5 Standard includes an Ultra HD Blu-ray drive; the Digital Edition does not. Everything else (processor, ultra-high-speed SSD, haptic feedback from the DualSense controller) is identical. In our store, the Standard version has 1 TB of storage and the Digital Edition 825 GB: worth bearing in mind, because downloaded games fill up space quickly.

Digital dominates sales

The figures published this year all point the same way. According to GinjFo, 78% of full games sold on PS4 and PS5 were digital in the 2025 financial year, rising to 85% in the last quarter. In the United States, according to Circana data reported by Gamekyo, only seven PlayStation games have sold more than 100,000 physical copies since the start of 2026. Several outlets, including GinjFo and Génération-NT, also report that Sony plans to stop releasing its new games on disc from 2028.

An important caveat: these statistics include games that simply do not exist in boxed form. For some family or highly anticipated titles, the physical version remains popular.

Which PS5 for which player?

• Go for the Digital Edition if you buy your games on PlayStation Store, mostly play online or free-to-play games, and want the lowest price.
• Go for the Standard if you like lending, reselling or collecting your games, if you already own PS4/PS5 discs, or if you take advantage of bargains on second-hand games.

Either way, plan for extra storage if you play a lot of large games: the console accepts an additional M.2 SSD.

Compare the two versions on our PlayStation 5 page.

Sources

• GinjFo, «PlayStation sans disque en 2028, les chiffres confortent le choix radical de Sony», 22 July 2026 – ginjfo.com
• Génération-NT, «La fin des jeux physiques chez PlayStation menace un marché milliardaire» – generation-nt.com
• Gamekyo, «Aux USA, seulement 7 jeux ont vendu plus de 100 000 copies physiques en 2026» – gamekyo.com
• TechRadar France, «PS5 Standard vs PS5 Digital Edition : quelle console choisir ?» – global.techradar.com