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Sony confirms PS5 is still on track for 2020 release

Just in case you had any doubt the PlayStation 5 was still set to debut later this year, it's back and on track for a holiday 2020 debut.

Brittany Vincent

May 13, 2020 9:45 AM

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Make sure your bank account is ready for the eventual blow it'll be taking by the end of the year. According to Sony, the PlayStation 5 is still on track for a holiday debut, despite the unique "challenges" brought on by the global coronavirus pandemic.

"Regarding the launch of PlayStation 5, although factors such as employees working from home and restrictions on international travel have presented some challenges in regards to part of the testing process and the qualification of production lines, development is progressing with the launch of the console scheduled for the 2020 holiday season," Sony indicated.

"At this point in time major problems have not arisen in the game software development pipeline for Sony’s own first-party studios or its partners’ studios."

That means this year, now seven years following the launch of the PlayStation 4, there should be no reason why we don't see the new console. When it does end up on the market, the hope is that it does revitalize sluggish sales for Sony, whose financial results in its fiscal fourth quarter were quite sluggish.

The company ended up reporting a 57% drop in its operating profit to an estimated $330.7 million (35.4 billion yen), which Sony believed could be explained by an overall loss of income in its gaming and consumer electronics divisions. Loss in these areas did end up falling less than projections foretold, however, thanks to more and more gamers at home during the pandemic playing and buying new titles.

Even with this information, Sony has declined to offer any sort of projection for the current fiscal year, citing that the "uncertainties caused by the spread of COVID-19 have hindered Sony’s ability to reasonably forecast its future earnings."

Hopefully in the days to come we'll learn more about the PlayStation 5 itself since we've yet to see what the console looks like, though we've seen its controller and have at least an idea of what it's capable of.

Brittany Vincent

Senior Editor

Fueled by horror, rainbow-sugar-pixel-rushes, and video games, Brittany is a Senior Editor at Shacknews who thrives on surrealism and ultraviolence. Follow her on Twitter @MolotovCupcake and check out her portfolio for more. Like a fabulous shooter once said, get psyched!