Sony has started converting its disc manufacturing plant in Thalgau, Austria, into a microlens production facility following its July 1 announcement to end physical PlayStation game production by January 2028.
According to Sony Digital Audio Disc Corporation CEO Dietmar Tanzer, the company is already repurposing the facility and retraining its 300 employees. The plant had produced 600,000 discs per year, but upcoming orders are now just 10 percent of usual levels.
Sony DADC Head of Micro Optics Markus Streibl said the shift had been planned before the announcement, with a 30 million euro investment made earlier. Test operations for microlens production have begun, though Tanzer could not confirm all jobs would be retained.
The Thalgau site is Sony's last remaining disc factory after the New Jersey plant closed in 2011. Mass production of optical microlenses is planned company-wide as early as 2027.
