Now That Sony Is Stopping Making Physical Media, Is It Possible to Create Your Own Discs for PlayStation?

Earlier this month, Sony announced it would cease production of physical discs by 2028. This is a devastating blow to anyone who can’t download every video game they’ve ever played, especially given Sony’s closure of some of its legacy digital stores. But it’s also a blow to game archiving, raising a crucial question: is it possible to copy and back up PlayStation discs yourself?

Technically, the answer to this question is “Yes, with some caveats, depending on the age of your games.” Legally, the answer is “No, but probably okay.” To understand this, we’ll need to get to the bottom of some complex issues, so let’s start with the legal question.

Is it legal to copy PlayStation discs?

The rules governing permissible actions vary greatly by region, but we’ll focus on the United States (other regions of North America and Europe have somewhat similar rules). In the United States, there are two common, but counterintuitive, rules:

• You have the right to create a backup copy of any storage media you own. For example, a backup copy of your PlayStation discs.

• You are prohibited from circumventing any copy-protection measures on storage media, such as the DRM system on your PlayStation discs.

Yes, this is somewhat contradictory. It’s a bit like saying you can read any book in the library, but only if the door to that library is unlocked—and the door is always locked. Theoretically, this means you have the legal right to back up your media only if the company you purchased it from allows it.

In practice, things are somewhat less dire. Prosecuting individuals for copying a single disc is generally difficult (and unprofitable for public relations). Instead, most lawsuits will center on the tools themselves. Developing (or, in some cases, even linking to) copying tools can expose their creators to legal liability. Gray areas exist, especially when it comes to game preservation.

For most people, this means that if you intend to copy PlayStation discs to distribute copies to many others, you may face legal issues. However, if you want to make a backup copy in case your existing disc fails and Sony stops producing it, you’re probably safer. But you’re still taking the risk.

Is it possible to copy or burn PlayStation discs myself?

The ability to copy the contents of a PlayStation disc depends largely on the console model. Generally, the older the console, the longer archivists and other enthusiasts have been working on this issue, making it easier to do. Older devices typically use simpler encryption or well-known copy protection mechanisms that are easier for modern users to bypass. Since such bypassing can lead to legal liability, fewer people and groups are attempting this for newer consoles. It’s not impossible, but it’s likely to be more difficult and less accessible.

To copy discs, you’ll need a disc drive that can read your game, and the exact one you need will depend on the console generation it belongs to.

• The PS1 used CDs for games (though they looked a little different due to the special black coating).

• PS2 games were released on CD and DVD discs.

• From the PS3 to the PS4, both consoles used standard Blu-ray discs.

• Finally, the PS5 has support for larger capacity Ultra HD Blu-ray discs.

As you may have already realized from this list, finding the right drive for a specific console generation can range from trivially easy to practically impossible. Many desktop computers and even laptops have DVD drives that can also read CDs. Blu-ray drives are much less common, and there’s a good chance the only UHD Blu-ray drive you’ve ever encountered is the one in your PS5, unless you happen to have one of these options .

This only applies to backing up data from your disc. If you want to burn it to another disc (a process called burning), you’ll need a drive that can not only read these discs but also burn them. In many cases, these are the same thing—for example, the drive mentioned above can both read and burn Blu-ray and DVD discs—but if you want to burn your own discs, make sure you haven’t accidentally purchased a read-only drive.

Can my PlayStation play my backup discs?

Backing up your games to a disc is one thing. It can be useful for saving or storing games you’ll later play in an emulator. However, this doesn’t mean you can simply insert the burned disc into your old PlayStation and play them as usual.

PS3 and older models will likely require a modification, or at least a software upgrade, to play burned discs. This process can vary greatly not only by console generation, but also by specific model and even by console year. Since copy protection is an arms race, sometimes newer models block decryption methods that worked on older devices, or, conversely, sometimes newer models introduce vulnerabilities that can be exploited to hack the console.

Typically, the methods modders use to hack consoles rely on security vulnerabilities, so those that can be patched with software updates will be patched. This means that even if you have a console of the correct generation and production batch, it may still be unhackable if it has been updated to a newer software version.

This situation has led to the emergence of a small console resale and modification industry, offering hacked versions of existing consoles or selling specific versions of devices that can still be modified. However, entering this market can be challenging, as there are typically few avenues for protecting your rights if your complaint is something like, “I bought a PS4, but it has outdated software.”

What other options are there to run my copied games?

Short of modifying an existing PlayStation to play burned discs—a difficult task even under the best of circumstances—the second-best way to play backed-up games is with an emulator. While this might be a bit of a disappointment if you’re trying to preserve physical media for the long term, it’s also much easier than modifying a console to play homemade discs.

As with everything described in this guide, the emulators you need will vary depending on the platform . There are several options for the PS1, and at least one for the PS2, PS4, and PS5. Notably, there are currently no PS5 emulators, which is typical for current-generation consoles, for a number of technical and legal reasons that should be obvious if you’ve read this far.

It’s worth noting that if you’re running your own backup copies of games in an emulator, you likely don’t pose a serious legal threat (or at least, you’re not a serious enough target for most companies to pursue you). Downloading and running games you didn’t purchase yourself can put you in a much more difficult legal position. And given the absolute state of the gaming industry , I wouldn’t advise pirating any games you can legally purchase right now.

Is this a good way to preserve physical media?

Let me be clear: Sony abandoning physical media is appalling. I’ve spent this entire article describing the process of backing up games and creating custom discs in vague, nonsensical terms that would make it legally justifiable—all because companies like Sony want to monopolize the production of discs for their consoles. And now they don’t even want that. This isn’t so much a rejection of the original idea as it is an act of arson and a lawsuit against anyone who tries to change it.

Eventually, it won’t matter. The current PlayStation 5 has a disc drive, but if disc production ceases by 2028, there’s a good chance the PS6 won’t have one at all. At that point, even if you burn a copy of a game to a disc, there won’t be anything to play it on. We’re approaching an era where creating your own physical media may become little more than a hobby, reminiscent of a bygone era’s cosplay, like a hard drive disguised as a VHS tape .

But this preservation process remains important. Physical media allows games to continue to run even after servers are shut down; it delivers games to locations that may lack reliable internet access; and it helps ensure that little-known games don’t fade into oblivion.

Perhaps Sony will change its mind and continue releasing physical media; or perhaps it won’t. If it does abandon discs, perhaps it will at least allow enthusiasts who want to preserve the practice to try their hand without fear of legal repercussions. There’s no harm in dreaming. Until that happens, keep distributing cassettes . Figuratively, of course.

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