Conclusion: Sony has reportedly discontinued its last standalone UHD Blu-ray player in its home country, meaning the PlayStation 5 is now the company’s only device capable of playing the format. Of course, for anyone who has been paying close attention to Sony or physical media lately, this isn’t a surprising result.
Back in February, Sony stopped global sales of Blu-ray recorders – but the move had no impact on sales of standard Blu-ray players. Over the summer, the company dropped the bombshell that it would no longer produce physical PlayStation games starting in 2028. At this point the decision was pretty clear.
Now, Japanese blog Kunkoku – a Sony retailer – reports that the company has discontinued its UHD Blu-ray player UBP-X700/K, the company’s last standalone player. In fact, a quick check of the device on Sony’s website shows that it is out of stock and no return date is provided.
As FlatpanelsHD points out, the PS5 is primarily a gaming console, making it an expensive option if you only need it for watching Blu-rays (and recent price hikes don’t help). It also doesn’t support Dolby Vision, so there’s that. And looking ahead, it’s unlikely that Sony’s next-generation gaming console, tentatively named PS6, will have an optical drive at all.
However, if you’re a fan of Blu-ray or want to ensure you can continue watching your existing disc collection, now might be a good time to develop a hardware-based plan for the future. Depending on what you already have, this could mean buying a backup machine to pop out if your current solution eventually fails, or getting a PS5 now while it’s still around.
Of course, Sony is not the only provider in this area. A handful of other big-name brands still make Blu-ray players, but when a major industry influencer like Sony pulls out of the market, it’s usually a sign that others won’t be far behind.
