Sony has insisted it has enough memory to meet its PlayStation 5 sales targets for the current financial year, with this November’s launch of Grand Theft Auto 6 looming over the horizon.
The RAMpocalypse, which is an ongoing global computer memory and storage supply crisis driven by AI data center demands, shifted manufacturing capacity, and soaring component prices, is hitting console manufacturers hard. Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo have all announced hardware price hikes, and there are concerns that there won’t be enough consoles to meet demand — even at higher prices.
Sony, though, sounds positive about the situation. Reporting its first quarter financial results, it said it had secured the amount of memory it needs to meet its PS5 sales targets for the financial year ending March 31, 2027, and insisted there is no change to its plan for hardware profitability to remain as it was last financial year.
Here’s the statement:
Regarding the impact of memory market conditions on PlayStation 5 hardware, we have secured the quantity of memory necessary to meet our projected sales volume for FY26, and there is no change to our plan for hardware profitability for FY26 to remain similar to FY25.
This is hugely important for Sony, as it has a number of key video game releases due out this financial year that are expected to boost PS5 sales. Chief among them is Rockstar’s behemoth, GTA 6, which is sure to spark a surge in console interest (it’s not coming out on PC at launch). There will undoubtedly be an army of GTA fans who will need to upgrade from the last generation or even buy a console for the first time since the Xbox 360 / PS3 era in order to play GTA 6, and it’s crucial that both Sony and Microsoft have enough consoles to capitalize on that demand.
Outside of GTA 6, Sony has Marvel’s Wolverine out in September, and God of War Laufey due out in February. It will want to make sure it has enough PS5s to make the most of those releases, too.
Overall, PlayStation continues to do brilliantly financially, although sales of the PS5 continue to fall. In the first quarter Sony sold 1.6 million PS5 units, roughly a third fewer than the same period a year earlier (total PS5 sales are now up to 95.3 million). Total PlayStation Monthly Active Users reached 125 million accounts in June, up 2% year-on-year and a record high for the month of June. Although total playtime during Q1 FY26 decreased 4% year-on-year, Sony insisted that user engagement continued to be solid because Q1 FY25 benefited from season updates to major titles and new hit titles.
One drag on its profits in the first quarter was an increase in costs, "including investments for the next-generation platform and restructuring costs." That's a nod not only to the development of the inevitable PS6 and maybe even a PlayStation handheld or hybrid console, but significant layoffs.
Sony raised its forecast for the gaming business, expecting a 3% increase in sales versus its May forecast. Part of that is due to a refund on Donald Trump’s U.S. tariffs, which other gaming companies including Nintendo, have secured.
There is one interesting note in the financials: Sony says its profit will be negatively impacted by “adjustments to the FY26 first-party title roadmap,” which suggests a first-party Sony game that was due out by the end of March 31, 2027 has been delayed. What that is, though, we don’t know.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
