Former Sony Exec on Disc vs. Digital Gaming & PlayStation Stars Flop

The debate over digital versus physical gaming has intensified in recent weeks, sparked by Sony’s announcement that it will stop producing discs for new PlayStation games after January 2028. This shift has divided the community, with many players fiercely defending their right to own physical copies. To better understand the forces driving this transition, I sat down with Gordon Thornton, a former Sony Interactive Entertainment executive who spent nearly 18 years at the company before leaving in 2022. As the SVP overseeing PlayStation’s global direct-to-consumer business, Thornton was instrumental in building the PlayStation Store from the ground up into a multi-billion-dollar digital marketplace.

I asked Thornton for his perspective on the digital gaming landscape, starting with the subject of loyalty programs. Recently, a player managed to pre-order the Ultimate Edition of GTA 6 using only Microsoft Rewards points after months of grinding. This success story highlights the potential of a well-designed loyalty ecosystem. However, Sony is preparing to shut down its PlayStation Stars program later this year. Thornton didn’t mince words: “Microsoft Rewards works because it’s built on a two-way value exchange where both the company and the player benefit. PlayStation Stars failed because it didn’t properly align player behaviors with the right incentives. That misalignment led to its closure.”

Now serving as the Chief Commercial Officer at ZBD, a payment infrastructure company for gaming, Thornton shared a practical example of what effective loyalty looks like. “The real value for both players and developers comes from aligning rewards directly with in-game mechanics and objectives. When done right, it boosts a title’s lifetime value and average revenue per user. For instance, when ZBD helped TapNation implement this approach, they saw a 142% increase in player retention over two weeks and a 44.4% rise in average revenue per daily active user.”

Thornton criticized the industry’s tendency to copy existing loyalty models without innovation. “Most systems just replicate what others are doing. Microsoft does it well, but it’s still not transformative. The next step is to elevate the relationship between player and game to a financial level, embedding real-money rewards into the core gameplay loop. Instant payouts for content creators, for example, turn audiences into vested participants with shared goals, deepening their connection to the game.”

Turning to the cost of digital gaming and Sony’s disc phase-out, Thornton defended the PlayStation Store’s position. He noted that the store already commands 80–85% of the market share, with physical retail primarily competing only during the initial launch window. “The PS Store dominates the catalog market for games older than 90 days, which minimizes distribution risks. Physical resellers have naturally lost relevance as gaming moves online in major markets like Western Europe and the US.”

On the accusation that Sony holds a monopoly and overcharges for digital games, Thornton pushed back. “PlayStation operates on a buy/sell model where the publisher sets the recommended retail price. Sony does not control these pricing structures, which counters claims of unilateral price fixing.” He also addressed the argument that digital games should be cheaper due to the lack of manufacturing and distribution costs. “Publishers have never wanted channel-centric pricing. In the US, pricing is harmonized to help set global rates via foreign exchange. The industry doesn’t use a cost-plus model; it prefers to maximize revenue however possible. Embedding sustainable value loops within a game strengthens user lifetime value and average revenue per paying user, which helps cover rising development costs. That allows game prices to remain fixed, whether physical or digital.”

Do you agree with Thornton’s assessment, or do you see things differently? Join the conversation on the Insider Gaming Discord server. For more coverage, check out my interview with Troy Baker on The Last of Us Part 3, and sign up for our newsletter to get the latest gaming insights delivered directly to your inbox.