Sony continues its march towards an all-digital future after reportedly killing its last 4K UHD player

It appears that Sony is exiting the UHD Blu-ray market, as it has reportedly quietly discontinued its latest 4K UHD player. It’s part of a broader shift at Sony that has seen the electronics and entertainment giant invest less and less in hardware and physical media over the past year. And that makes fans of physical media nervous.

As first spotted by HD flat screens, Japanese blog and electronics retailer Kunkoku has claimed that sales of the UBP-X700/K will officially end on October 22 in Japan.

This was the last UHD player manufactured and sold by Sony in Japan. This means that, at least locally, the only new UHD player from the company that will be available is the PlayStation 5. The last major electronics company still making UHD players is now Panasonic. Sony also makes, at least for now, a DVD player model and a Blu-ray player model.

“Sony reportedly exiting the UHD Blu-ray player market” https://t.co/WSUgXtk6RJ

“Sony Japan has discontinued its latest UHD Blu-ray player, the UBP-X700/K, seemingly marking the company’s exit.

The news comes via Japanese blog Kunkoku, which also happens to be a Sony retailer.… pic.twitter.com/ZEb1zWA1IK

– Wario64 (@Wario64) October 22, 2026

On Sony Japan’s website, the company lists the UBP-X700/K 4K UHD Player as “out of stock,” with the added message “This item will not be restocked,” seemingly confirming Kunkoku’s report. We don’t yet know if Sony intends to halt production of the X700/K player globally, but historically what happens in Japan tends to be a preview of the company’s larger plans for the rest of the world. So it seems very likely that Sony will soon finish making dedicated consumer UHD players.

This seems to be linked to Sony’s withdrawal from electronic production. Earlier this year, Sony sold a large portion of its TV and hardware production factories and facilities to TCL as part of a broader deal that also saw TCL take a majority stake in Sony’s Bravia TV business. Also earlier this year, Sony announced plans to end production of PlayStation discs in 2028.

All of this reveals a harsh reality for fans who enjoy owning physical copies of movies and games: that future is likely on its way out as companies look to move toward an all-digital future. Hold on to your records, folks. Things are going to get tough there.