Sony Interactive Entertainment boss Hiroki Totoki has officially ruled out any new PS5 software until April 2025 in a new financial call while also stating the PlayStation 5 is in ‘the latter stage of its life cycle’ after failing to meet sales expectations.
It’s looking to be 2024 without any of Sony’s first-party IP releases. New details surrounding Sony’s first-party publishing slate have been revealed through a financial call (from IGN) made earlier today, and PlayStation fans are not going to be pleased. Sony Interactive Entertainment Head Hiroki Totoki has confirmed there will be no first-party IP releases until April 2025. This is outside of already announced projects (with release dates this year and are not pre-existing) such as Rise of the Ronin, and Stellar Blade.
Totoki said during the finance call “Regarding first-party software, we aim to continue to focus on producing high-quality works and developing live service games. But while major projects are currently under development, we do not plan to release any new major existing franchise titles next fiscal year like God of War Ragnarok and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.” The next fiscal year ends in March 2025. It’s also worth noting that third-party titles are excluded, so the ongoing rumours of Microsoft releasing their titles on competing platforms could still occur at this time.
The news of no new franchise releases for PlayStation comes at a time when Sony claims the PS5 hasn’t met sales expectations for 2023. According to Bloomberg, Sony Senior Vice President Naomi Matsuoka said, “Looking ahead, PS5 will enter the latter stage of its life cycle,” while also mentioning the PS5 could see a further price decrease beginning in April of this year.
These reports come at a time when Sony has just revealed that PlayStation 5 sales expectations need to be reined in, as they’re currently not expected to reach their lofty 25 million units sold by the end of this fiscal year (which ends in March 2024). Sony has set the expected PlayStation 5 sales at 21 million by the end of the fiscal year, which is still a staggeringly big number.
For reference, the PS5 has currently sold over 54 million units since its initial launch. While supply continues to meet customer needs, Matsuoka expects the PS5 to drop in price. Fans looking to buy a PS5 might be better suited to wait until April to see if the price does indeed drop.
