Sony has released its latest financial results for the third quarter of the 2023 financial year. The results and subsequent speech from Sony chief Hiroki Totoki give some interesting information about the state of PlayStation.
Generally, Sony’s Games and Network Services division is in a healthy state with an increase in sales. Key user engagement metrics also increased and Sony expects third-party game titles to expand gradually due to an increase in the PS5 install base.
However, Totoki noted that PS5 console sales saw a bit of a decline and Sony missed its target of shipping 25 million units this year.
Sony will “continue to focus on producing high-quality works and live service games”
Sony chief Hiroki Totoki also said that Sony does not plan on releasing any new titles from major existing franchises this year.
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 Ragnarök and Marvelʼs Spider-Man.
No new Spider-Man or God of War Ragnarok game this year was pretty much a given. But it also means we won’t be seeing any new Uncharted games or anything else from PlayStation’s existing franchises. This of course won’t affect the likes of Concord or Haven Studio’s Fairgame$.
Totoki also said that the PS5 is now entering “the latter half of the console cycle.”
With the announcement that no new games from existing franchises are coming this year, it will probably be March or April next year before we see anything. PlayStation fans are still waiting to hear more about Guerrilla Games’ Horizon Online game or the rumoured Horizon MMO. And there’s is also the new game in a “beloved franchise” being co-developed by Naughty Dog.
