Highlights
- Sony forecast gaming revenue to fall 6% YoY to ~$28B USD, as PS5 quarterly sales dropped 46% to 1.5M units.
- CEO Totoki said PS6 pricing and launch timing remain undecided, with memory costs expected to stay elevated through fiscal 2027.
- Sony projects gaming operating profit to climb 30%, driven by first-party software and GTA VI's November 2026 release.
Sony reported that rising memory chip prices and weaker PlayStation 5 (PS5) demand are pressurizing its gaming business and affecting PS6 planning.
In financial results released on May 8, 2026, the company forecast gaming revenue would decline 6% year-over-year (YoY) to 4.42 trillion yen (~$28 billion USD). This decline is driven mainly by lower PS5 hardware sales as the console enters its sixth year on the market. Sony also announced a share buyback program worth up to 500B yen (~$3.2B), covering as many as 230M shares.
Sony sold 1.5M PS5 consoles during the quarter ended March 31, 2026, down 46% from a year earlier. Lifetime PS5 sales reached 93.7M units, placing the console slightly behind the PlayStation 4 on a launch-aligned basis.
The company previously raised PS5 prices in March 2026, including a $100 increase in the United States.
Sony Says PS6 Price and Launch Timing Remain Undecided
Sony president and CEO, Hiroki Totoki, said the company has not finalized pricing or launch plans for the PlayStation 6 because future component costs remain uncertain.
Totoki stated that the company has "not yet decided on at what timing we will launch the new console, or at what prices." He added that memory prices are expected to remain high into fiscal 2027 amid continued supply shortages linked to artificial intelligence (AI) demand.
Meanwhile, Sony pointed out that PS5 profitability will depend on securing memory at “reasonable prices,” though it has already secured a minimum supply for the holiday season.
Sony FY2025 Consolidated Financial Results
GTA VI and Software Sales Expected to Support Profit
Despite lower hardware sales, Sony expects gaming operating profit to rise 30% due to stronger first-party software sales and the absence of major impairment losses recorded a year earlier. Analysts also expect Grand Theft Auto VI (GTA VI), scheduled for release on November 19, 2026, to boost PlayStation engagement and software spending.
Serkan Toto, founder of Kantan Games consultancy, expressed confidence, saying he is "more optimistic than Sony" about the market's trajectory. He believes investors are currently underestimating the potential impact that GTA VI will have on the gaming landscape.
Sony also disclosed nearly $765M in impairment losses tied to Bungie assets during fiscal 2025 (FY25) following the launch of the multiplayer shooter title, Marathon.
