Sony Says Next PlayStation Is on Schedule as PS5 Shipments Reach 97.9 Million

Sony prepares its next console as PS5 approaches 100 million

Sony says development of its next PlayStation console is progressing on schedule, with investment set to increase as the company manages slowing PS5 shipments, rising memory costs and a growing audience for games and services.

Chief Financial Officer Lin Tao gave the update during Sony's second quarter earnings briefing for fiscal 2026. Worldwide PS5 shipments reached approximately 97.9 million through September 30, 2026, after Sony shipped 2.6 million consoles in the July to September quarter.

The hardware business is slowing, but activity across PlayStation is moving in the opposite direction. Monthly active users reached 127 million in September, up 7% from a year earlier, while total playtime increased 4%. Full game sales across PS4 and PS5 reached 88.2 million during the quarter, compared with 80.3 million a year earlier.

Sony is therefore preparing its next platform while continuing to earn money from an established audience. Its immediate task is to keep players buying and playing games while funding the research needed for a new generation of hardware.

Tao described development of the next console, widely referred to as PlayStation 6, during the earnings call:

progressing as scheduled

Sony has not formally confirmed the PlayStation 6 name or disclosed a release date, price, specifications or development budget. It also has not said whether its memory supply agreements for the coming fiscal year include components for the next console. Those details remain central to understanding what the new platform will cost and when players can buy it.

What Sony's spending timetable actually says

Sony expects research and development for its next platform to have a substantial effect on spending during the second half of the current fiscal year. Tao also said the company would continue making substantial investments in the fiscal year beginning in April 2027.

The distinction matters because investment is already under way. April 2027 marks a further stage in funding the project, rather than the beginning of all work on the console.

Some development expenses that Sony had expected to record in the current fiscal year will instead be recorded in the following year. The company attributed that shift to the timing of expense recognition, the accounting process that determines when a cost appears in financial results.

A project can continue moving forward while its expenses fall into a different reporting period. Sony's message combines continued development with a change in when some costs will appear in its accounts.

PS5 shipments slow while game sales rise

Sony shipped 2.6 million PS5 consoles during July to September 2026, down from 4 million in the same quarter a year earlier. That is a decline of 1.4 million consoles, or 35%.

Cumulative shipments stood at 93.7 million at the end of March. Another 1.6 million in the first quarter and 2.6 million in the second brought the total to 97.9 million, leaving PS5 about 2.1 million units short of the 100 million milestone.

Shipments count consoles supplied to retailers and distributors. They are different from purchases by individual customers, which can happen later. The 97.9 million figure is best understood as Sony's cumulative hardware shipment total.

Software sales tell a stronger story. The increase from 80.3 million to 88.2 million full games represents another 7.9 million copies, or roughly 9.8% growth. Sony also reported an 89% rise in operating profit, the money left from business operations after operating expenses.

A larger audience supports the transition

PlayStation's 127 million monthly active users give Sony a substantial audience to serve while it prepares new hardware. Monthly active users measure accounts using the platform during a month, rather than the number of new consoles sold.

The user total can therefore grow even when quarterly PS5 shipments decline. Existing players continue using their consoles, and Sony's business extends across games, digital purchases and services rather than depending entirely on each new hardware sale.

Tao, Sony's chief financial officer, described the current position in her prepared remarks:

Although new PS5 unit sales are gradually declining as expected in this stage of the console life cycle, the PS platform continues to expand and grow in a stable manner.

The figures show different rates of growth within that audience. Monthly active users rose 7%, while total playtime rose 4%. Both measures increased, although time spent playing grew more slowly than the number of active users.

Sony plans to support that activity through major game releases and expanded services in the next fiscal year. For players, this means the company's immediate plans still include reasons to use the existing platform while work on its successor continues.

Memory supplies are a central cost concern

Sony says it has agreed with suppliers on the memory quantities needed for its projected hardware sales in the fiscal year beginning in April 2027. That gives the company a supply plan for a key component as memory prices put pressure on console costs.

Memory helps a console hold and quickly access information while a game is running. Storage keeps installed games and other files. Both are essential parts of the machine, and their prices affect how much it costs to build.

Sony says it has offset higher PS5 memory costs through a combination of pricing, promotions and cost reductions. That response spreads the pressure across what customers pay, how Sony discounts its products and what the company spends elsewhere.

The supply agreement addresses quantities for projected sales. The separate challenge is managing the cost of those components while keeping hardware attractive to buyers and leaving enough money to invest in the next platform.

Investment comes with spending discipline

Tao paired Sony's commitment to a new platform with a warning that investment must support the health of the PlayStation business. During the question and answer session, she explained the company's approach:

For future growth, we have to attach great importance to our new platform. We have to make the necessary investments for that. But we have to support this soundness of our platform and try to think how rationally we can invest in our platform.

Sony is balancing two demands. It needs to fund a successor capable of attracting players, while continuing to support the platform that currently generates game purchases and service revenue.

The growing audience and stronger software sales help explain why those priorities sit together. A console generation is more than a hardware launch: it also requires games, development tools, services and continued support for customers already using PlayStation.

Tao's comments place spending discipline alongside the development schedule. Sony is committing to the project while keeping its broader business performance part of the investment decision.

The dates behind Sony's update

Sony's figures and statements span several reporting periods. The sequence helps separate completed PS5 shipments from the next stage of spending on new hardware.

• End of March 2026: Cumulative PS5 shipments stood at approximately 93.7 million.
• April to June 2026: Sony shipped another 1.6 million PS5 consoles.
• July to September 2026: Quarterly shipments reached 2.6 million, taking the cumulative total to approximately 97.9 million.
• September 2026: PlayStation monthly active users reached 127 million.
• Second half of fiscal 2026: Sony expects research and development for the next platform to have a substantial effect on spending.
• April 2027: The next fiscal year begins, with further substantial investment planned for the new platform.

Sony Chief Executive Hiroki Totoki had said during the summer that the company had not set a launch date for its next console. Tao's subsequent update focused on development progress, investment and component planning.

The next dated milestone in Sony's investment plan is therefore April 2027. Players have a clearer picture of when spending will increase, while the launch timetable remains outside the company's announced plans.

What changes for PlayStation players

PS5 owners are still at the center of Sony's immediate business. The company intends to increase engagement and revenue through major games and services, while full game sales across PS4 and PS5 continue to grow.

Prospective console buyers face a more limited set of confirmed details. Sony is developing a successor and arranging further investment, but its public update offers no product announcement against which to compare a current PS5 purchase.

Component costs also have a practical effect on customers. Sony's use of pricing, promotions and cost cuts shows how changes in the supply chain can reach the retail market, affecting both standard prices and the deals available at different times.

The central development is a business moving through a transition: fewer new PS5 consoles shipped than a year earlier, more games sold, a larger active audience and increasing spending on what comes next. Sony's challenge is to carry that audience into another generation while keeping the current platform productive.

Key Points

• Sony CFO Lin Tao says development of the next PlayStation platform is progressing on schedule.
• PS5 shipments reached approximately 97.9 million through September 30, 2026.
• Quarterly PS5 shipments fell 35% to 2.6 million, while full game sales rose to 88.2 million.
• PlayStation monthly active users reached 127 million, up 7%, and total playtime increased 4%.
• Sony plans further substantial investment in the fiscal year beginning in April 2027.
• Sony has agreed memory supply quantities for projected hardware sales next fiscal year.
• The next console's official name, release date, price and specifications remain unannounced.