Supporters of physical media are organising a complete PlayStation “blackout” in August in an attempt to damage Sony’s player-engagement metrics. Participants in #PSBlackout are being urged to avoid switching on their consoles, signing in or making purchases across the company’s platforms between August 23 and 30.

Another community boycott is being organised in response to Sony’s decision to discontinue production of physical discs for new PlayStation games from January 2028. Known as #PSBlackout, the initiative asks players to avoid using any PlayStation device for an entire week. Many have already questioned whether switching off consoles can achieve anything when it does not directly reduce the company’s sales. The organisers argue that the campaign is instead aimed at another measurement Sony considers increasingly important: monthly active users. The proposed action will begin on August 23 and continue through August 30.

The movement was launched by Does it play?, an account that has spent years examining whether boxed games can be played completely offline and whether additional downloads are required. “Sony wants to abandon the fans? Let’s give them a little taste of their own medicine!” the announcement begins. “Together with other creators we call for a one-week #PSBlackout in August. No logins, no play sessions, no purchases on any of Sony’s platforms.”

A longer statement attached to the post accuses Sony Interactive Entertainment of becoming increasingly disconnected from its audience. The organisers list the company’s focus on live-service games, what they describe as the abandonment of PS VR2, and the closure of studios such as Bluepoint Games among the decisions that have damaged confidence in PlayStation. Ending new physical releases in 2028 is presented as the final breaking point. “We understand there is a limit to what Sony Interactive Entertainment can control, but with the decisions it does control, the company continues to mismanage the strong position it inherited from the PS4 era,” the statement says.

According to the campaign’s organisers, restoring physical releases would represent only the beginning of the changes required to rebuild trust. They also miss Twisted Metal, SOCOM, Sly Cooper and Resistance, alongside PlayStation Experience events and the former Japan Studio. “With this in mind, we are calling on PlayStation players to participate in an economic and gaming blackout from Sunday, August 23, through Sunday, August 30. Players can participate by turning off their consoles or logging out for seven days,” the statement continues. The group believes that a seven-day period will create minimal disruption for third-party publishers and developers while still allowing the community to make its anger visible.

Monthly Active Users Really Do Matter to PlayStation

Many responses to the proposed boycott argue that refusing to buy games from the PlayStation Store and cancelling PlayStation Plus subscriptions would send a much stronger message than leaving consoles switched off for one week. Sections of the community have already adopted both approaches since Sony announced the end of physical production. Critics of the blackout maintain that large corporations tend to acknowledge consumer anger only when it produces a direct financial consequence.

Does it play? does not present the blackout as an isolated or decisive solution. “It’s just one more tool among many. It’s specifically designed to impact player numbers too, which is the metric they turn to when sales don’t produce a good headline,” the account said in response to the criticism.

Monthly active users do occupy a central place in Sony’s current PlayStation strategy. The company’s financial reports identify PlayStation MAUs, total gameplay hours and PS5 hardware sales as strategically important indicators, while increasingly connecting platform growth to engagement, repeat spending and continued use of its services. Sony Interactive Entertainment chief Hideaki Nishino has previously explained that the emphasis is gradually shifting from hardware volume toward retaining active users. Chief financial officer Lin Tao described the change more directly: “We used to focus on units sold, but now our focus is on monthly active users. Management is focused on engagement and MAUs. This is leading us toward greater profitability.”

#PSBlackout is therefore deliberately targeting a figure that Sony regularly presents to investors, although it is currently impossible to know whether enough people will participate to create a measurable decline. Supporters intend to combine the blackout with other actions, including refusing digital purchases and cancelling subscriptions. Many still expect PlayStation to disregard the protest and proceed with its officially announced plan to end physical production for new games in 2028. The most determined opponents have already warned that, should Sony refuse to reverse its decision, they will also refuse to purchase the company’s next console, widely expected to be the PS6.

Source: 3DJuegos, Does it play?, PlayStation Blog, Sony