By Sony has officially announced that it will end production of recordable Blu-ray Disc media in February, marking the end of the format’s nearly two-decade run at the company that created it according to Tom’s Hardware.
In a statement posted to the official Sony Japan site, they say (translated): “In February 2025, we will end the production of all models of Blu-ray disc media, mini discs for recording, MD data for recording, and mini DV cassettes. In addition, there is no successor model.”
Reports broke back in July last year that Sony would cease development and production of recordable consumer optical media, including Blu-ray discs, as it moves to an all-digital future.
At the time they indicated it would retain production lines for business and corporate clients until it became unprofitable. That time appears to have been reached as commercial sales have reportedly become insufficient to sustain Sony’s recordable optical media business.
Both Blu-ray and HD DVD became publicly available in 2006 with Blu-ray quickly gaining advantage thanks to its inclusion within the PlayStation 3. If stored properly, optical media – especially with Blu-ray more so than DVD – can be viable for decades which makes it an ideal medium for long-term storage.
How this will impact commercial Blu-ray movie releases is unclear, though little change is expected in the near future. More concerning is what this means for the future of physical media in the long term, especially in the wake of discs being removed from retail stores and Blu-ray player manufacturers reducing their ranges.
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