NIS America says it is talking to Sony about the end of PlayStation discs. About 30 in 100 PS5 copies of Resident Evil Requiem were sold on disc

The stories

14 on this beat today.

Every story told the same way: what happened, who is involved, why it matters, how it works, the truth and the good news.

1. 01

   NIS America says it is talking to Sony about the end of PlayStation discs. About 30 in 100 PS5 copies of Resident Evil Requiem were sold on disc

   4 in 5

   PlayStation 4 and 5 games bought as downloads in Sony's last financial year

   reported by the games newsletter Game File [1]

   30%

   of Resident Evil Requiem's PS5 copies sold on disc

   out of about 4 million PS5 copies, an outside estimate by Alinea Analytics [6]

   Jan 2028

   when Sony plans to stop making discs for new PlayStation games

   its finance chief said in July it would go ahead cautiously [4]

   What happened

   • Sony plans to stop making discs for new PlayStation games from January 2028.
   • It says most players now prefer to buy games as downloads. [2][1]
   • Game File, a games newsletter, reports that four in five games bought on PlayStation 4 and 5 in Sony's last financial year were downloads. [1]
   • Kenzo Saruhashi runs Nippon Ichi Software, the Japanese maker of Disgaea, and its international arm, NIS America.
   • He says NIS America makes a big part of its money from boxed limited editions. [5]
   • Saruhashi told Kotaku that NIS America is in talks with Sony.
   • He said a download code inside the box is one possible outcome, but not the only one. [5]
   • He said he thinks Sony is hearing a lot of feedback from customers, and that the discussion may change. [5]
   • A YouTube host known as Tom, of the channel Moore's Law is Dead, says Sony sent developers one of its biggest surveys ever. [2][3]
   • He says one question asked, indirectly, whether developers have a problem with ending disc sales. [2][3]
   • No other evidence of that survey has appeared.
   • Eurogamer says it has asked Sony whether the report is true. [2]
   • On 25 September PlayStation opened a public survey about the PS5.
   • Players used its comment boxes to ask Sony to keep discs, though no question mentioned them. [4]
   • Resident Evil Requiem, Capcom's newest horror game, sold about 4 million copies on PS5, and 30% of them were discs, by the estimate of the research firm Alinea Analytics. [6]
   • Iam8bit and Lost in Cult, which sell collector's boxes of games, told GamesIndustry.biz after the announcement that they were profoundly disappointed and deeply saddened. [1]
   • Sony's finance chief, Lin Tao, said in July that the company would go ahead cautiously, and that it knew people had strong views. [4][3]

   All PS4 and PS5 games, Sony's last year20%

   Resident Evil Requiem on PS530%

   Who is involved

   • Sony Interactive Entertainment the company that makes the PlayStation; it plans to end discs for new games from January 2028 [2]
   • Kenzo Saruhashi head of Nippon Ichi Software and NIS America, publishers of boxed limited editions; he says they are in talks with Sony [5]
   • Lin Tao Sony's chief financial officer; she said in July Sony would move cautiously ahead [4]
   • Moore's Law is Dead a YouTube channel about technology; its host says Sony surveyed developers about discs [2]
   • Alinea Analytics a firm that estimates game sales from outside; it puts Requiem's PS5 disc share at 30% [6]

   How it unfolded

   1. July Sony says it will stop making discs for new PlayStation games from January 2028 [2]
   2. 24 Sep IGN reports a YouTube host's claim that Sony sent developers a large survey touching on discs [3]
   3. 25 Sep PlayStation opens a public PS5 survey, and players use it to ask for discs [4]
   4. 25 Sep Kotaku publishes NIS America's head saying his company is in talks with Sony [5]
   5. Jan 2028 Disc production for new PlayStation games is due to end [2]

   Why it matters

   Watch whether Sony lets any publisher keep pressing discs for limited editions before January 2028.

   NIS America's head says the talks are still open. [5]

   The truth

   • What is really going on Sony plans to stop making discs for new PlayStation games in 2028 because four in five games on its consoles are now bought as downloads. [1][2]Publishers that sell boxed editions, like NIS America, are now in talks with Sony about what happens to them. [5]
   • Why it works on people A share like four in five makes the other fifth sound small. NIS America makes a big part of its money from boxed limited editions. [1][5]
   • Who pays Publishers of boxed collector's editions — NIS America, Iam8bit and Lost in Cult build part of their business on physical boxes, and Sony plans to stop making discs for new games in 2028. [5][1]
   • Nobody knows yet

     Whether Sony really sent developers a big survey about discs.

     The only source is a YouTube host citing unnamed contacts, no other evidence has appeared, and Eurogamer has asked Sony whether it is true. [2][3]

   • Nobody knows yet

     What Sony and NIS America have agreed, if anything.

     Saruhashi says a download code in the box is one possible outcome and that the talks may change it. Neither company has said more. [5]

   • Nobody knows yet

     How quickly PlayStation discs actually disappear.

     Sony says disc production for new games ends from January 2028, but it has also said output falls by 10% in 2028, not to 10%. [2]

1. 02

   MindsEye's studio goes into administration

   What happened

   • Build A Rocket Boy, the studio founded by Grand Theft Auto veteran Leslie Benzies, has appointed administrators. [8][9]
   • Administration is a UK process for a company that cannot pay its debts: the people it owes cannot sue while an outside firm tries to rescue it. [9][8]
   • The studio confirmed Opus Advisory Group is acting as administrator. [8]
   • Its last accounts, for the year to September 2025, show a 47.5 million pound operating loss and 61.8 million pounds owed to creditors. [8]
   • Its first game, MindsEye, launched in June 2025 to bad reviews, and layoffs followed in several waves. [8][9]

   Why it matters

   If the studio cannot be rescued, the administrator's job becomes getting creditors more back than a plain shutdown would. [9]

   NetEase Games, RedBird Capital Partners and Galaxy Interactive had invested in the studio, and their directors were removed from its board over the summer. [8]

   How it works

   To get the law's protection, a company must first tell everyone

   Ubisoft's AI plans, Sony's repair idea and a studio's collapse all became public this week because each company wanted the law to protect something.

   The twist

   The law protects a company's name, invention or survival only after the company writes it down where anyone can read it. So a company that wants that protection cannot keep the thing secret.

   The picture

   Ubisoft's trademarksa name

   ++

   Sony's patent filingan invention

   ++

   Rocket Boy's filingtime from lenders

   Step by step

   1. 1 A company wants the law to protect something
   2. 2 The law asks it to file the details on a public list
   3. 3 Anyone can search that list
   4. 4 Reporters and rivals read the filing
   5. 5 The plan or the debt is known before the company announces it

   The same force, elsewhere today

   Where this chain is also running, in today's other stories.

   • Ubisoft files trademarks for Motherbrain

     To own the name, Ubisoft had to describe it in public filings, and those filings named AI software for making games before Ubisoft said a word.

   • Sony files a patent for an AI that writes PlayStation fixes

     To ask for the sole right to the idea, Sony had to publish how its AI would watch a PlayStation and write a fix.

   • MindsEye's studio goes into administration

     To stop the people it owes from suing, Build A Rocket Boy had to file at Companies House, the UK's public list of companies, where its accounts already showed 61.8 million pounds owed.

   Where you've seen this

   Medicines

   a drug maker publishes its formula in a patent, and in return nobody else may sell that drug for years

   Company accounts

   a UK company files yearly accounts on a public register, and in return its owners do not have to pay its debts from their own pockets

   Houses

   a land registry records who owns each house, so anyone can look up who owns the house next door

   The catch

   A filing shows what a company wanted to protect, not what it will make: many trademarks and patents never become a product.

   And the whole of it

   A company filing a patent is thinking about its own idea. A reader hears only about the filings that make the news. Your home, your employer and your local shop's name are probably on public lists too, put there by someone who wanted the law's help.

   The truth

   • Who pays Build A Rocket Boy's creditors — They were owed 61.8 million pounds at the studio's last accounts, and administration stops them suing while the administrator tries to rescue it. [8][9]
   • Nobody knows yet

     How much Build A Rocket Boy's creditors will get back.

     The administration filing was not yet public when it was reported, and neither the studio nor the administrator has said whether it can be rescued. [8][9]

1. 03

   Trophy Games buys Playrion from Paradox

   What happened

   • Trophy Games, a Danish studio, has bought Playrion, the Paris studio behind Airport Simulator: First Class, from Paradox Interactive. [10]
   • Trophy pays 2.25 million euros up front, plus more over three years depending on Playrion's revenue. [10]
   • Thirty Playrion staff move to Trophy, which calls it its largest purchase yet. [10]
   • Paradox says it is focusing on strategy and management games, mainly for PC and consoles. [10]
   • Trophy raised its 2026 revenue forecast to between 22.8 and 24.1 million euros. [10]

   Why it matters

   Trophy says it has a recipe: take a game that has proved it has players and build a series around it, as it did after buying Airline Manager 4 in 2021. [10]

   Because part of the price depends on revenue, Paradox is paid more only if Playrion does well under its new owner. [10]

   The truth

   • Who gains Trophy Games — It gets a rival studio with 30 staff for 2.25 million euros up front, and pays more only if Playrion's revenue grows over three years. [10]
   • Who gains Paradox Interactive — It sells a phone-game studio it bought in 2020 and keeps its focus on strategy and management games for PC and consoles. [10]
   • Nobody knows yet

     How much Paradox will get for Playrion in the end.

     Only the 2.25 million euro first payment is public; the rest depends on Playrion's revenue over three years. [10]

2. 04

   A discount and a film lift old Resident Evil games

   What happened

   • Capcom cut prices on several Resident Evil games eight to ten days before the new Resident Evil film reached cinemas, by two reports. [6][7]
   • In the week after the film opened, PS5 sales of the Resident Evil 2 remake rose 64% and of the 2023 Resident Evil 4 remake 54%, by Alinea Analytics' estimate. [7]
   • Daily players of the Resident Evil 2 remake rose from about 78,000 to about 116,000. [7]
   • Requiem, the newest game, made about $271,000 a day on PS5 once discounted, down from $284,000. [6]

   Resident Evil 2 remake64%

   Resident Evil 4 remake54%

   Why it matters

   The sale and the film overlapped, so the two reports read the same numbers differently: IGN's headline credits the film, while Eurogamer says the price cuts mattered more. [7][6]

   Alinea's Rhys Elliott says the discounts drove most of the rise before the film, and the film pushed sales further the week after. [7]

   The truth

   • Who gains Capcom — Its price cuts, followed by the film, lifted PS5 revenue from the Resident Evil 2 and 4 remakes by 80% and 84% in a week, by Alinea's estimate. [7]
   • Who pays Capcom, on its newest game — Once Resident Evil Requiem was discounted, it made about $271,000 a day on PS5 instead of $284,000. [6]
   • Nobody knows yet

     How much of the Resident Evil sales jump came from the film, and how much from the price cuts.

     The cuts began eight days before the film by Eurogamer's count and about ten by IGN's. IGN's headline credits the film, and Eurogamer's credits the discounts. [6][7]

3. 05

   Ubisoft files trademarks for Motherbrain

   What happened

   • Ubisoft, which publishes Assassin's Creed and Far Cry, has filed trademarks for the name Motherbrain, the games newsletter Game File found. [12][11]
   • One filing covers downloadable software that uses AI to create video games. [12][11]
   • Game File reports that Ubisoft uses Motherbrain as an inside name for its AI projects, which it has not mentioned in public. [12]
   • It shares its name with the villain computer in Nintendo's Metroid games. [12]
   • Ubisoft has shown AI tools before, including Ghostwriter, which drafts background dialogue, in 2023. [11][12]

   Why it matters

   Ubisoft closed studios, cancelled projects and cut jobs this year, and its chief executive, Yves Guillemot, has called generative AI a change as big as the move from 2D to 3D games. [11]

   A trademark filing is public, so the name came out before any announcement. [11]

   How it works

   To own the name, Ubisoft had to describe it in public filings, and those filings named AI software for making games before Ubisoft said a word.

   The idea, in story 02: To get the law's protection, a company must first tell everyone →

   The truth

   • Nobody knows yet

     What Motherbrain actually is.

     Ubisoft has not mentioned it in public. Everything known comes from trademark filings found by Game File. [11][12]

4. 06

   NIS America wants Japan and the West to get games together

   What happened

   • Kenzo Saruhashi now runs both Nippon Ichi Software in Japan and its international arm, NIS America. [13]
   • He told Kotaku he wants more of their games released around the world on the same day. [13]
   • Ys X: Nordics, which NIS America publishes in the West, came out in Japan in September 2023 and in the US 13 months later. [13]
   • Saruhashi says the two companies used to work almost separately, so neither could commit to a shared release date. [13]

   Sep 2023Out in Japan

   ↓→

   Oct 2024Out in the US

   Why it matters

   Kotaku's writer says the gap meant the game felt old by the time it reached the US, after a year of seeing it discussed online in Japanese. [13]

   Saruhashi says Western players want Japanese games more than they used to. [13]

5. 07

   Double Fine dates its first game since Xbox

   What happened

   • Double Fine, the studio behind Psychonauts, will release Thank You Bus Driver on 14 October on Steam, GOG and Itch.io. [14][15]
   • It is a comedy game about driving a town's bus on time and slapping passengers who break the rules. [14][15]
   • It is Double Fine's first game since Microsoft spun it off from Xbox this summer, when the studio cut about a quarter of its staff. [14][15]
   • It comes out under a new label, Double Fine Action Labs, for small, rough, cheap games. [15][14]

   Why it matters

   Tim Schafer, who runs Double Fine, says the label tells players this is not Psychonauts 3, so they expect a short game, not a big one. [15]

   He also says he likes Game Pass, Xbox's subscription, because it lets people try strange games without paying $70 first. [14]

   Good news

   • Double Fine, spun off from Xbox this summer, will release its first independent game, Thank You Bus Driver, on 14 October.
6. 08

   Developers can now claim their MobyGames credits

   What happened

   • MobyGames, a database of video games and the people who made them, is owned by the games company Atari. [16]
   • Its paid service, MobyGames Professional, announced in June and now in test, lets developers claim their profile pages and add portfolios. [16]
   • Product manager Reece Denzel says thousands of developers have claimed pages. [16]
   • GamesIndustry.biz says it could let people left off a game's credits show their work, and MobyGames checks each person's identity by hand. [16]
   • A full version is due this autumn. [16]

   Why it matters

   Denzel says studios get thousands of applicants for a single job, and a checked work history helps a candidate stand out. [16]

   Much of the credits data was gathered by volunteers, often from screenshots of games' end credits. [16]

   The truth

   • Who gains Atari, which owns MobyGames — It sells a paid Professional service built on a credits database that volunteers largely filled in. [16]

   Good news

   • Thousands of developers have claimed their pages on MobyGames, a database of who made which game, and each one is checked by hand. People left off a game's credits may now be able to show their work there.
7. 09

   UK museum asks who holds old game material

   What happened

   • The National Videogame Museum in Sheffield has opened a UK-wide survey called Behind the Screens. [17]
   • It asks developers, publishers, former staff and collectors what they hold, from design papers and artwork to old hardware, adverts and company archives. [17]
   • Ukie, the UK games trade body, is a partner, and the British Film Institute's Screen Heritage Fund is paying for it. [17]
   • The museum opened in 2018, holds close to 5,000 objects and says it has had more than 350,000 visitors. [17]

   Why it matters

   The museum says it first needs to know what already exists, and warns that much of the UK's game history could be lost if nobody keeps it. [17]

   The results will show where studios could work together to protect material at risk. [17]

   Good news

   • The National Videogame Museum in Sheffield, which holds close to 5,000 objects, has opened a UK-wide survey to find old game material that studios and collectors still keep.
8. 10

   Ireland's game fund will not pay for AI-made art

   What happened

   • The Irish Game Makers Association and Screen Ireland have relaunched the Irish Games Fund with three strands for different stages of making a game. [18]
   • The first, the Development Fund, is offering 50,000 euros to four teams whose games are past the prototype stage. [18]
   • Applicants must declare any use of generative AI. [18]
   • The fund will not back games that plan to ship with art, audio or writing mostly made by AI, citing unsettled copyright risks. [18]
   • Expressions of interest close on 8 October. [18]

   Why it matters

   A studio that wants this money must replace any AI-made art, sound or writing before release. [18]

   Ubisoft, whose trademark filings for AI game-making software came out days later, is moving the other way. [11]

   The truth

   • Who gains Irish studios making games without generative AI — The new Development Fund is offering 50,000 euros to four teams, and it will not back games that ship with AI-made art or sound. [18]
   • Who pays Irish studios already using generative AI — To get the new fund's money they must replace AI-made art, sound or writing before release, or be turned down. [18]

   Good news

   • Ireland's relaunched games fund is offering 50,000 euros to four teams whose games are past the prototype stage. Expressions of interest are open until 8 October.
9. 11

   Wardogs passes 3 million as its boss explains his crunch remarks

   What happened

   • Wardogs, a military shooter, has sold more than 3 million copies in its first 18 days. [19]
   • It is made by Bulkhead, a studio that split from the Chinese tech company Tencent in December 2025. [19]
   • Bulkhead's chief executive, Joe Brammer, had said the studio would not hire people who constantly post against crunch, the long stretches of overtime before a deadline. [19]
   • He now says he is not pro crunch but pro hard work. [19]

   Why it matters

   In a statement to Eurogamer, Brammer said his staff worked two extra hours a week, Monday to Thursday, for four weeks, on a four-day week. [19]

   He argues a new game on new technology cannot always be delayed by a month when something breaks. [19]

   The truth

   • Who pays Bulkhead's staff — Brammer says they worked two extra hours a week, Monday to Thursday, for four weeks before Wardogs came out. [19]
   • Nobody knows yet

     How many hours Bulkhead's staff worked before Wardogs came out.

     The only account published is Brammer's own. [19]

10. 12

    Bungie reshapes Marathon beyond its first idea

    What happened

    • Bungie, the studio behind Destiny, has set out big changes to Marathon, its shooter whose player numbers on PC keep falling. [20]
    • Marathon was built as an extraction shooter, where players normally bring their own gear into each match. [20]
    • An October update adds a free permanent rewards pass and matches where players get free gear instead of risking their own. [20]
    • December brings a bigger push for Symbiosis, a mode against computer enemies, and a test Team Deathmatch mode. [20]
    • Bigger changes, including a new start for beginners, are due in March. [20]

    Why it matters

    Bungie says it wants to keep the tense original mode for players who like it, while adding gentler ways in for everyone else. [20]

    Eurogamer says the original proved too daunting for many players. [20]

11. 13

    Sony files a patent for an AI that writes PlayStation fixes

    What happened

    • Sony has filed a patent for an AI that would watch a PlayStation for problems. [21]
    • It would use a large language model, the kind of AI behind chatbots, to write a fix or send a report to Sony's engineers. [21]
    • The patent itself says repair orders sent to a device in someone's living room need careful limits, so a small problem does not become a bigger one. [21]
    • IGN says it is not clear when, or whether, Sony will build it. [21]

    Why it matters

    To spot every problem, the AI would need access to everything processed on the console. [21]

    IGN guesses such a feature would arrive with Sony's next console, which it expects to need a constant internet connection. [21]

    How it works

    To ask for the sole right to the idea, Sony had to publish how its AI would watch a PlayStation and write a fix.

    The idea, in story 02: To get the law's protection, a company must first tell everyone →

    The truth

    • Nobody knows yet

      Whether Sony will ever build its AI repair system.

      It is only a patent application, and IGN says it is not clear when or if it will become a product. [21]

12. 14

    The Bloody Baron's writer returns to CD Projekt

    What happened

    • Karolina Stachyra wrote the dialogue and scenes of Family Matters, The Witcher 3's quest about the Bloody Baron. [22]
    • She is back at CD Projekt, the studio behind The Witcher, after a decade away that included narrative director jobs at Techland and GSC Game World. [22]
    • Her LinkedIn profile shows she consulted for the studio from February and rejoined as a full-time writer in August. [22]
    • CD Projekt confirmed her return but would not say what she is working on. [22]

    Why it matters

    The Witcher 3's remaster comes out on 29 September. [23]

    PC Gamer notes that Ciri, the lead of the coming Witcher 4, was central to the Bloody Baron quest, though nothing yet links Stachyra to that game. [22]