Two-person indie team brigaded with demands to cancel first game over Sony disc backlash

Indie developer Eat Pant Games had its launch-day celebrations derailed after the trailer for its first game was flooded with protests over Sony’s decision to end physical PlayStation releases.

The New Zealand studio released Teeto on July 15 for PS5, Steam, Nintendo Switch, and Switch 2. The colorful 3D platformer follows a blob and bunny attempting to stop a shadowy corruption from spreading across their world.

However, when the game’s launch trailer was uploaded to PlayStation’s official YouTube channel, its developers quickly discovered that hundreds of viewers weren’t there to discuss Teeto.

“Me: omg! Our game just launched, and PlayStation posted our launch trailer! 400 comments whaaaaaat! I wonder what people think of our game?” the studio wrote on X.

Teeto devs caught in PlayStation physical games backlash

The trailer’s comment section was filled with messages such as “We want discs,” “Keep making discs Sony,” and “You’ll own nothing and you’ll be happy.”

By July 18, the video had accumulated more than 600 comments, with very few addressing the game itself. This was despite Teeto receiving 100% positive reviews from its first 25 players on Steam.

Eat Pant Games later revealed that some users had directly demanded it cancel Teeto’s digital launch and only sell a physical version.

“We’ve literally had people tell us to CANCEL our digital release and do physical only,” the developer said, reminding critics that the studio consists of only two people and Teeto is its first game.

The team stressed that it supports physical ownership and would love to release Teeto on disc, but producing physical copies carries a much greater cost and financial risk for a small developer.

“Would LOVE a physical version of Teeto – it’s our dream!” Eat Pant Games explained. “We have to see how the digital release goes first.”

When accused of “contributing to the problem” by releasing a digital-only game, the studio added that Teeto was already close to finishing its PS5 port when Sony made its announcement. Canceling that version would therefore only hurt the developers and players who wanted it on PlayStation.

Teeto is also digital-only on Steam and both Switch consoles, with the team noting that digital distribution has a “far lower barrier to entry” than producing physical copies.

Sony announced on July 1 that it will discontinue physical disc production for all new PlayStation games beginning in January 2028, citing “shifting trends in consumer preference.”

The decision won’t affect games released or scheduled for physical editions before the cutoff, but it has sparked widespread protests across PlayStation’s social media accounts and YouTube channel.

Unfortunately for Eat Pant Games, that backlash completely overshadowed what should have been a milestone launch for its two-person team.