Sony has begun repurposing its sole remaining PlayStation disc manufacturing facility in Thalgau, Austria, shortly after announcing the cessation of physical game production. The approximately 300 employees at the plant will retain their jobs but will be retrained to produce optical microlenses instead of game discs. These microlenses are essential components for managing power consumption and bandwidth in devices requiring precise light control, such as headsets.
The Thalgau plant, which previously produced 600,000 discs annually, is expected to see a significant decrease in disc orders. According to Dietmar Tanzer, CEO of Sony DADC, the factory's upcoming orders represent only about 10 percent of their usual volume, making the retraining initiative a logical step. Sony has been planning this transition for some time, investing €30 million into new technology for microlens creation, which is being established as a new business area for the company.
This repurposing signifies the end of an era for physical PlayStation game production. The Thalgau facility was Sony's last remaining disc manufacturing plant; a previous plant in New Jersey was closed in 2011. With this facility no longer producing discs and no other company capable of manufacturing PlayStation discs, the infrastructure for physical game disc production for Sony consoles appears to be entirely dismantled globally. This development follows Sony's recent announcement of the discontinuation of support for its PlayStation 3 and PS Vita digital storefronts, contributing to a period of significant change for the company's legacy platforms.