I don't see signs pointing to Sony dropping physical media, their already have the modular disc drive model going on with the PS5 Pro, it's extremely likely the PS6 will do exactly the same, offer the console without it but the option to go for it if/when you want to.

There is no doubt that Sony will continue to stick with physical media: Looking at the Steam Deck’s modest commercial performance (likely attributable to its lack of promotion/presence at non-Steam retailers), it should not be underestimated just how important it is to any game publisher that they continue to have a presence at in-person retailers.

That said, however, seeing as internet is required to install a disc drive onto your PS5, if Sony does choose the route of releasing exclusively digital revisions of hardware moving forward (though I doubt they will seeing as the PS5 with a disc drive installed continues to be by far the most popular SKU), then that would certainly place a looot of these “physical only” gamers in a bind: Once the servers go down, how are you going to play these physical games? How will they be any different from a GKC besides the need to install your game?

About the GKC it is fundamentally different. There is no game there.

About the rest, agreed, I despise the idea of the PS6 only being offered without the discdrive and with a mandatory, even if one time only, internet verification, for it to work.

It won't personally affect me as I'm likely to get the PS6 while it's still relevant, but it is indeed terrible to game preservation and I'll be really mad at Sony if they screw it up the PS6 like that.

Fair, could be right.  Though I wonder how many people will buy the extra disk drive?  I could be wrong, but given AI, the ps6 is going to be at least $700, add another $100 for a disk drive..  I think when physical dies is questionable, I don't however doubt for a second physical will die in my life-time, likely while I still have a couple decades left.  

Edit

I say that because most kids, mine included, have zero relationship with physical media.  Netflix for shows.  Spotify for music.  Steam for gaming.  Kindle for books.  The younger generation is basically groomed with digital in mind, physical is an old timers thing, and the world moves on.  

Depends if Nintendo wants to utilize the faster Read speeds of the SSD Drive. I believe reading data from the card is about 25% the speed of reading data from the SSD drive.
I believe some devs made comments on this being one of the reasons to use Key cards instead of full physical.

Games that have been designed with no SSD in mind like PS4 ports should be able to run directly from full physical cards. Games that have been designed with the PS5 generation in mind (featuring SSD) will be troublesome to pull of.

This was changed back in early December.

PS5 Disc Drive Internet Connection Requirement Has Reportedly Been Removed With Model CFI-2116 - PlayStation Universe

"Sony Interactive Entertainment has seemingly given the boot to the controversial Internet requirement for the PS5 Disc Drive with the latest model of the system, labelled CFI-2116.

The PS5 Disc Drive can be purchased separately and is compatible with the PS5 Pro and the newer slimmer version of the PS5 Digital-Only Edition, but had to be connected to the Internet in order to pair it to your console the first time. However, as noted by Zuby_Tech on X, it appears that this requirement has now been removed for the latest PS5 mode via a new firmware update for the system."

New PS5 Consoles Don't Require Disc Drive Pairing - Report - PlayStation LifeStyle

Allow the content to be installed in the system storage, like the PS4 do. Even the PS3 and 360 allowed that, then you play the game from the fastest internal storage and delete it later if you need space, it'll run from the cart top regardless anyway.

Having the game there and allowing it to be installed too is the best option to everything: ownership, game preservations, storage management, loading speeds.

Ah! Well, that's good news. :) IDK why I'm just now hearing about this four months later lol, but good to know now.

p.s. Your signature appears to be broken? Something I just noticed. Looks like it's saying "This user is private on PSN."

Yeah it's been broken for years on here, I am just too lazy to go in and fix it. lol  It was just a trophy level card and current games on I was playing. I'll fix it eventually. 

Willing to bet that this will not happen. Not by the end of the gen, at least.