- Dataintelo reports that the used video game market is worth $7.2 billion
- The firm believes that Sony’s decision to end record production will cause its downfall
- Analysts say the market “will continue to shrink and eventually disappear.”
The second-hand video game market could be in danger following Sony’s decision to end the production of physical discs from January 2028.
A new story from CNBC included an analysis from market research firm Dataintelo, which reported that the used games market was worth $7.2 billion in 2025 and predicted it could grow to $13.8 billion by 2034.
The figure represents all games, console hardware, accessories and peripherals used, but consoles account for 42.3% of revenue, with North America making up the largest share of the market. That compares with Europe, which captured 28.3% of global second-hand revenue last year.
The company explained that the second-hand games market is primarily driven by concerns about affordability, interest in retro games, and a “transition from digital to physical games.”
With Sony’s plan to phase out discs in just two years, there is now a threat to the used games market.
“Realistically, at least a third of games have historically been sold as used, and the games that were sold also provided currency to the player who traded them in as cash to pay for the new games,” said Wedbush Securities Managing Director of Strategic Planning Michael Pachter. “Traditional game retailing is doomed.”
However, physical records and the second-hand market are not likely to disappear suddenly. Kazunori Ito, director of equity research at Morningstar, explained that the market “will continue to contract and eventually disappear.”
“There is an important difference between players who accept that change because they see its value and that it is effectively imposed on them by eliminating the alternative,” Ito said.
“Most would prefer to make that transition in their own way and at their own pace, rather than having it driven by the end of physical disks.”
In Sony’s announcement earlier this month, it called it a “natural direction” for the company, arguing that the transition from physical to digital discs “will allow us to more closely align with how the majority of our community prefers to access and play games today.”
While fans continue to reject the decision, analysts have determined that the PlayStation company will not change its mind.
“Their current profit margin has been too weak for years, so they feel they have to act,” explained Dr. Serkan Toto, CEO of Japanese gaming industry consultancy Kantan Games. “From an economic perspective, digital sales make too much sense, especially for platform holders.”
A recent report from Circana senior director and video game industry advisor Mat Piscatella also suggested that the digital market is in Sony’s favor right now, explaining that only seven PlayStation games “have sold more than 100,000 physical units so far this year” in the United States.
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