PS5 Players Turn to Piracy Amid Sony’s Shift Away from Physical Games

There’s not much that companies can do to stop video game piracy, but Sony might have just shown how to inadvertently fuel it. Following the announcement that it would halt production of physical games by 2028, interest in pirating its hardware has surged.

In early 2026, whispers began circulating that hackers had found a way to jailbreak PS5 consoles. Jailbreaking allows users to bypass a device’s original programming, which can lead to the illegal distribution of digital games, as well as the potential for game backups and homebrew applications. Ironically, the method discovered earlier this year relied on a random physical Star Wars game.

Fast forward six months, and the hacking community has exploded with various methods to jailbreak PS5 consoles, particularly those with earlier firmware versions. Users with jailbroken systems are now downloading both modern and retro games, installing file managers, and enhancing their media playback capabilities.

Sony’s recent announcement about the PS5 has understandably upset many. Some fans have vowed to stop supporting Sony products, while others are channeling their frustration into piracy.

Searches for ‘PS5 jailbreak’ have reportedly increased by about 20% in the last 24 hours. Numerous videos covering the PS5 jailbreak scene and tutorials have drawn comments reflecting the community’s discontent with Sony’s digital shift.

“Who here is after the last week of PlayStation literally trying to commit seppuku?” one commenter quipped on a popular jailbreak video.

“Forget Sony, forget Rockstar, forget this generation,” another user expressed.

“We all know why you’re here,” another commenter added, complete with a shushing emoji.

On the PS5 jailbreak subreddit, weekly visitors have surged by around 10,000 since late May. The price of the Star Wars game used to enable the jailbreak has also spiked on eBay, rising from an average of $250 in January to between $300 and $400 now.

The news about the PlayStation Store closing on older platforms has further fueled interest in pirating PlayStation games. Recent threads on the PS3 subreddit show fans encouraging each other to seek out emulators for retro games and discussing the pros and cons of doing so. Sony’s decision to remove hundreds of movies from PlayStation customers without refunds has led many to realize they don’t truly own their digital content. This realization has made it easier for some to justify turning to piracy.

“This should be your call to finally join us in the civilized world and mod your PS3,” reads one thread title.

Fans have a lot of strong opinions about the PS5’s transition to an all-digital format by 2028.