Mexican Lawmakers Target Sony with Antitrust Action Over Digital PlayStation Plan
Legislators petition antitrust regulator COFECE over plans to eliminate physical discs by 2028.
Mexico CITY — Mexican lawmakers have formally petitioned the country’s antitrust watchdog to block Sony Group Corp.’s planned phaseout of physical video game discs by 2028, warning the move would establish an unlawful monopoly over PS5 distribution.
Federal Representative Iraís Reyes and Senator Luis Donaldo Colosio submitted the regulatory complaint to the Federal Economic Competition Commission (COFECE) following Sony’s announcement last month that it will cease releasing physical game discs by January 2028. Sony cited expanding global broadband speeds and shifting consumer demand toward digital downloads as the rationale for the strategic transition.
Under the petition filed with COFECE, the Mexican lawmakers contend that an all-digital model violates Mexico’s Federal Economic Competition Law by forcing all game purchases through the proprietary PlayStation Store. The complaint asserts that eliminating physical media will eradicate Mexico’s secondary used-game market, harm brick-and-mortar retailers, and expose consumers to inflated software prices without tangible software ownership rights.
Reyes and Colosio also warned that closing physical retail channels leaves software developers, publishers, and independent studios entirely dependent on Sony’s network, granting the company unchecked authority to levy excessive platform commissions and mandate restrictive terms.
The move marks a major regulatory challenge in Latin America’s largest gaming market. Reyes, dubbed the gamer congresswoman by national media, previously led a successful legislative effort to dismantle an 8% IEPS excise tax levied on video games categorized as violent.
Sony’s plan is drawing broader international resistance. In Europe, Dutch consumer organization SMC filed a $457 million lawsuit against the company earlier this year, while officials and advocacy groups in Brazil, France, and the Netherlands are evaluating similar legal challenges.
However, global regulatory oversight remains divided. European Union Consumer Protection Commissioner Michael McGrath confirmed last month in Strasbourg that the bloc lacks legal grounds to halt the transition, citing protection for commercial and contractual freedoms under EU law.
