Sony said on Wednesday that any new blockbusters won’t feature first-party PlayStation exclusives until at least early 2025. “While there are currently some major projects in the works, we do not plan to release any new major existing franchise titles in the coming financial year. God of War Ragnarok and Marvel’s Spider-Man“,” Sony president Hiroki Totoki wrote (through Polygon) in the company’s 3rd quarter of 2023 financial results. Sony’s 2024 fiscal year begins on April 1 and ends on March 31, 2025.
The PlayStation division will instead focus on third-party software sales, which Totoki expects to grow gradually. Square Enix is coming Final Fantasy VII Rebirth On February 29, the PS5 will be released exclusively. Konami’s Silent Hill 2 remakeThe console, which is exclusive to PS5 and will also be available on PC, is scheduled to arrive later this year. Other upcoming third-party tentpoles include Star Blade and The rise of Roni.
Meanwhile, the platform first party exclusive Wolverine game if not, it may not arrive until 2026 documents leaked from the hack any sign.
“We expect third-party software sales to continue to expand gradually due to the expansion of PS5’s installed base and high levels of user engagement,” Totoki wrote. It will be Totoki He replaced Jim Ryan as CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment in April.
As for why PlayStation ended up with such a long gap between first-party flagship games — Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 launched in October 2023, leaving a gap of about 18 months or so – VGC reports Totoki said on the earnings call (through an interpreter) that the company’s creative teams could improve development turnarounds.
“When it comes to business, I think there’s room for improvement,” Totoki said of first-party studios after praising their creativity and vision. “And it’s about how to use the money, the development schedule and how to fulfill the responsibility for the development – these are my honest impressions. I will continue the dialogue with the people so that we can find the right way to continue.”
PS5 console sales missed their target for the quarter, reaching 8.2 million units in Q3 2023. The company revised its fiscal year forecast for PS5 sales to 21 million from 25 million. Sony expects the gradual decline to continue. “For the PS5 hardware, which is entering its fifth year since launch, partly due to entering the second half of the console cycle, we aim to optimize sales with a greater focus on profitability, so we expect a gradual decline. unit sales from the next financial year,” he wrote.
