Sony says PlayStation 6 development is ‘progressing as scheduled’, as PS5 sales hit 97.9m
The company intends to make ‘solid progress’ on development of PS6 next year
Sony says development on the next PlayStation platform is “progressing as scheduled” and that it intends to make “solid progress” in its next business year.
Sony CFO Lin Tao made the comments during the company’s latest financial results on Thursday, which revealed that the company sold 2.6 million PS5 consoles in the three months ended September 30, bringing total sales to 97.9 million.
In games, the company reported year-on-year increases in sales (+9%) and operating income (+89%), and claimed that it had been able to offset the rise in memory costs through cost reductions and price increases.
Sony said it has secured enough memory components for its next business year, which starts in April 2027, and said it would make progress toward preparing for PlayStation 6 during this period.
“Although new PS5 unit sales are gradually declining as expected at this stage of the console life cycle, the PlayStation platform continues to expand and grow in a stable manner,” Tao said during a web call.
“Looking ahead to the next fiscal year, we aim to continue to enhance user engagement and further strengthen monetization through the release of strong titles and the expansion of our service. We also intend to make solid progress in preparing for the next-generation platform.”
Tao said Sony was making “solid progress” on development of the next PlayStation console. Speaking during a previous earnings results call this year, CEO Hiroki Totoki stated that Sony had still yet to decide on a release date for PlayStation 6. However, some analysts are expecting the console to arrive in 2028, after PlayStation discontinues disc sales.
In its latest financial results, Sony revised forecasts for both gaming sales and operating income upward, crediting increased sales of third-party games (notably, GTA 6), first-party games, and cost improvements. Wolverine sales have exceeded 2.4 million, it said, while monthly active users reached 127 million in September – a record high for the month.
Commenting on the effect of the global component shortage on PS5, Sony said it had been able to offset price increases “through adjustments to promotions and pricing, as well as additional cost reductions”, and that it expects hardware profitability to remain on par with the previous fiscal year.
“Regarding memory procurement for the next fiscal year, based on discussions held so far with various suppliers, we have aligned on the quantity of memory needed for our projected unit sales,” it said.
Earlier this year, David Gibson, senior analyst at MST Financial, posted a report suggesting that PlayStation 6 isn’t likely to release any time soon, and that previous forecasts on its release window may not be accurate. “Sony expects the PS5’s lifecycle to be extended, and the PS6’s release is likely to be delayed longer than many expected,” he claimed.
