With Xbox stuck in a financial purgatory of its own making, Sony’s PlayStation brand is lingering in an entirely different limbo. The company is selling fewer PS5s than ever, and its big plan is to have enough consoles on hand for the launch of Grand Theft Auto VI. So what’s the actual plan? Well, it’s to win on “affordability.”
Sony’s latest earnings report is interesting for more than one reason, but it also marks the first time the company has acknowledged the fracas surrounding its plan to kill all physical PlayStation game sales by 2028. In a Q&A, translated by a company interpreter, Sony CFO Lin Tao said, “We’re going to cautiously move [the end of game discs] forward.”
Tao acknowledged the company has received “various opinions, and people have strong views.” She added, “We understand those emotions. We want to consider that. And in the future digital ecosystem, how do we engage the gamers is something that we would like to continue to explore.”
Sony responds to the backlash over ending PlayStation discs.
“We put in a lot of thought and time, and we cautiously considered this, and we came to this conclusion, and we’re going to cautiously move this forward…” pic.twitter.com/qRKkEX6TN3
— AmericanTruckSongs9 (@ethangach) July 31, 2026
For now, Sony is staying the course, and if you comprehend the rest of its latest financial report, it becomes clear why. Yes, Sony claims 82% of sales this past quarter were digital titles (including microtransactions and digital-only releases). More importantly, Sony shipped 1.6 million PS5s this past quarter, down 2.5 million from the same time last year. That’s not what you want to see when you’re more than a year out from the end of a console life cycle.
The PlayStatino brand is losing sales because fewer customers want to buy a five-year-old console that now costs at least $200 more than it did at launch. After recent price hikes, a PlayStation 5 with an optical drive demands $650. The PlayStation 5 Pro will take a $900-sized hole out of your wallet. The company originally sold that console for $700.
Sony is instead banking on having “secured the quantity of RAM necessary” to hit its sale volume for its 2026 fiscal year. It imagines PlayStation as a whole will remain at the same level of profitability as it did in 2025, though that may depend on November console sales with the hotly anticipated launch of GTA VI. Rockstar’s soon-to-be megahit is going to be a digital-only title. Sony makes more money if customers buy games directly through its self-owned PlayStation Store.
For now, PlayStation is only skating along. Sony’s game and network segment revenue remained practically flat between this quarter and the same time last year. Sony said it saw a positive effect from the “Impact of tariff refunds.” That stems from a February U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down many of President Donald Trump’s tariffs. The U.S. set up a way for companies to claim a refund on those tariffs, though fellow console makers like Nintendo have made it clear customers who bought the inflated gaming gear should not expect a refund.
“(+) Impact of U.S. tariff refunds”And any price increases influenced by tariffs also stay in place.Man.
Sony explicitly notes that its decline in hardware sales and the R&D on its “next-generation platform,” likely the PlayStation 6, are cutting into its overall revenue. That latter bit is just as important. Sony hasn’t revealed precise plans for its next-gen console that may still arrive in 2027. There may be a handheld and a console in store, but no matter what, they will be expensive. Memory prices won’t get any better next year.
And still, Tao said, “Compared to the high-end gaming PC, our product is more affordable. So we don’t feel that the disc itself is a strong factor for differentiation. Going forward, we can coexist peacefully with PC games.” As she mentioned affordability, you have to wonder: How can a next-generation, more powerful console possibly sell if players won’t buy an expensive PS5 now?
So, what’s next? A lease program? Game streaming hardware? If players are worried about ownership now, they should be even more concerned for what the future holds.
