If you haven't heard of the backlash Sony and PlayStation are currently facing, you've probably been living under a rock. At the start of this month, the PS5 manufacturer revealed that, from January 2028, it would be ditching physical releases, going solely digital. That announcement angered long-time PlayStation fans and former Sony bosses, and has sparked thousands upon thousands of social media comments, protests, petitions, new bill proposals, and class-action lawsuits. Sony has yet to say anything more, sweeping it under the rug and further deepening the rift with its audience. It seems like we now know the reason for this.
Speaking on her YouTube channel, former Santa Monica Studios writer Alanah Pearce has revealed that Sony has issued the "strictest social media guidelines" to employees that it has ever issued.
"No amount of public outrage or petitioning will be able to change that [Sony's move to digital only]," Alanah Pearce says in her video. "I do not think petitioning or public backlash will work here at all. That's not a reason not to do it, but Sony already knew everyone would be pissed off.
"People working within PlayStation first-party studios told me Sony had the strictest...
