“God of War,” “The Last of Us,” “Marvel’s Spider-Man” and “Horizon” are among Sony’s biggest franchises. But they obviously won’t be seen in the next financial year.
Software sells hardware, they say. And Sony was also able to deliver well in the first two years of the new generation of consoles. “Marvel’s Spider-Man 2” was also released last year, which spoke to the Christmas shopping season for purchasing a PS5 console. Apart from that, the first-party offering has been rather manageable in recent months.
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After this year “The Last of Us Part 2” again as a remaster came onto the market and was published by Sony Interactive Entertainment “Helldivers 2” was a surprise success releases like “Rise of the Ronin” and “Stellar Balde” are imminent. The rebuild of “Until Dawn” also appears under the Sony Interactive Entertainment flag. And what follows after that?
No major franchise titles in the new financial year
Based on the biggest brands, no titles from established franchises will be coming to market any time soon, Sony admitted in its latest annual report. The profit forecast was revised downwards accordingly.
“As far as first-party software is concerned, we want to continue to focus on producing high-quality works and developing live service games,” said Sony Group President, COO and CFO Hiroki Totoki
But while large projects are currently in development, there is no plan to publish “new large existing franchise titles” in the coming financial year, which runs until the end of March 2025. He named “God of War Ragnarök” and “Marvel’s Spider-Man 2” as examples of the category in question.
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There is no need to fear a complete undersupply in the coming months: Sony has confirmed the three first-party titles mentioned at the beginning – including “Rise of the Ronin” in March, “Stellar Blade” in April and a rebuild of “Until Dawn” later this year.
Likewise, Totoki’s statement suggests that he only refers to brands that are particularly large and equally established. “Concord” for example is a new brand. Other games such as “Until Dawn” do not fall into the category of a Kratos title.
The absence of the biggest first-party blockbusters has an impact on the revenue generated from game sales. Sony expects “first-party software profit to decline slightly compared to this fiscal year due to the impact of the decline in sales.”
Since “acquisition-related costs” will decrease in the new financial year, Sony expects a slightly increasing operating result. “Although this is our starting point, we are examining measures to further improve profitability in the run-up to the announcement of the annual forecast in May,” it added.
At the same time, the PS5 manufacturer expects third-party software sales to continue to increase due to the expansion of the PlayStation 5 install base and high user engagement. According to Sony’s forecast, subscriber numbers will remain stable or decline slightly, the company said to the PS Plus price increase leads back.
What about the PS5 hardware?
During the morning we reported on the PS5 sales and Sony’s hardware forecasts.
The PS5 should set a new record with 25 million PS5 consoles shipped in the 2023/2024 financial year, but will miss this. In the latest annual report, the company only assumes 21 million consoles.
“After Q2 2023 sales figures were released, it was already clear that Sony would never reach 25 million units this fiscal year. The third quarter was okay, but only possible because Sony ran extensive promotions and discounts during the holidays,” said industry consultant Dr. Serkan Toto opposite VGC.
Sony itself is aware that the zenith has slowly been passed, even if the PS5 only really got going last year due to the initial delivery problems.
The company wants to optimize PS5 sales without losing sight of profits. Ultimately, Sony expects a gradual decline in unit sales starting next fiscal year.
According to rumors, a Pro version of the current Sony console will be released at the end of 2024. While the announcement is still pending, in this PS5 Pro Special the previous information and leaks summarized.