PS5 Physical vs Digital Sales Gap Revealed: 70/30 Split in 2026

Ever wondered how many of your fellow PS5 players still buy discs? Well, new data from Alinea Analytics has the answer—and it might surprise you. In 2026, digital games are absolutely crushing physical sales on PlayStation, with a 70/30 lead. But the physical chart tells a fascinating story of its own.

Leading the physical pack is Capcom's Resident Evil Requiem, which is estimated to have sold 1.3 million units on PS5. It's the only game on the list to break the million mark. Close behind are 007 First Light with 873,000 units and Marvel's Wolverine at 799,000. Rounding out the top physical sellers are EA Sports FC 27 (705K), Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced (613K), Crimson Desert (511K), Pragmata (442K), and Onimusha: Way of the Sword (423K).

So what's driving these physical sales? According to Rhys Elliott, Alinea's head of market analysis, it's mostly single-player AAA titles and Japan-centric games. Capcom's Pragmata and Onimusha: Way of the Sword are nearly split evenly between physical and digital—44.0% and 44.1% physical, respectively. That's largely thanks to Japan, where physical games are still deeply ingrained in the culture. Elliott notes that Japan accounts for 12% of Onimusha's PS5 sales and 11% for Pragmata's. Even as digital grows in Japan, it remains a stronger market for physical than any Western region.

Sony is clearly trying to nudge Japan toward digital, though. The company recently released a digital-only PS5 exclusively in that region for $350—a pretty tempting price. But elsewhere, the story is different. Sports games dominate revenue charts, and they're almost entirely digital. Only 8.9% of EA Sports FC 27 sales were physical, and NBA 2K27, Madden 27, College Football 27, and MLB The Show 26 all heavily favor digital. Publishers have been pushing digital for years with early access and other perks.

Why does Sony care so much? Money, of course. Every physical sale means handing a cut to retailers, paying distribution costs, and missing out on the second-hand market. Digital sales, on the other hand, give Sony a 30% cut on its marketplace. As Elliott puts it, "It's doubly ironic, given the whole move is about squeezing more revenue per player, and a lot of the highest revenue users are some of the people Sony's pissing off." But he also notes that PlayStation won't necessarily lose much revenue by going digital-only—most players will move over. The issue, he says, is messaging and giving players a proper off-ramp from physical.

So, what do you think? Are you still buying physical PS5 games, or have you fully embraced digital? Let us know in the comments!