Sony says PS6 development is "progressing as scheduled" as PS5 closes in on 100 million and Wolverine passes 2.4 million

The next PlayStation is still on track, at least according to Sony’s money people. In the company’s latest quarterly results, CFO Lin Tao said development of the next-generation platform is “progressing as scheduled,” VGC reports. Sony still hasn’t named it, dated it or priced it, but this is the clearest signal yet that the money is about to start flowing.

What Sony actually said

Asked directly whether next-gen hardware was on schedule, Tao told investors, “We are progressing as scheduled,” adding that the larger share of that investment lands in the second half of next fiscal year, per Game Developer. Sony’s next fiscal year starts in April 2027. The company’s own report says it intends to “make solid progress in preparing for the next generation platform” in that stretch.

The other big question was memory. Prices have climbed with the global component shortage, and Sony says it has already lined up the quantity of memory it needs for its projected hardware sales next year. Executive officer Naoya Horii also pointed to Sony’s arrangement with TSMC when asked about supply limits. On the PS5 side, Sony says it offset higher costs with pricing and promotion changes plus cost cuts, and expects hardware profitability to stay about where it was last year.

The PS5 and Wolverine numbers

• 2.6 million PS5s sold in the July to September quarter, for 97.9 million total. That puts 100 million within reach.
• Marvel’s Wolverine has sold more than 2.4 million copies in its first two months.
• 127 million monthly active users in September, a record for that month.
• Game segment sales were up 9% year over year, and operating income up 89%.

Sony also raised its gaming forecast, crediting third-party sales (GTA 6 is called out by name), first-party games and cost improvements. Analyst Dr. Serkan Toto told VGC the bump likely reflects “even higher than expected pre-orders for GTA 6.”

PPR take: “On schedule” is doing a lot of work when nobody outside Sony knows what the schedule is. CEO Hiroki Totoki has said a PS6 release date hasn’t been decided, and VGC notes some analysts are looking at 2028. So read this as Sony saying the R&D isn’t slipping and the big spending starts in 2027, not a launch window. The memory comment is the more useful bit for players. If Sony really has supply locked up, that’s one less excuse for another round of console price hikes. Wolverine at 2.4 million is solid, but Game Developer points out it trails Ghost of Yotei’s 3.3 million first month. Either way, the PS5 is about to become a 100-million console, and GTA 6 is going to push it over the line.