The PlayStation 5 has cut its lifespan in half so far, even though the first few years of its launch were packed with major titles that launched alongside the device's launch. However, this rate, especially for first-party titles, has begun to decline in recent years.

Many may be wondering at this point, why did Sony delay the release of its new titles on the PlayStation 5? Why haven't we seen any announcements or even enthusiasm for Sony Studios' projects throughout last year and the rest of this year?

Sony has confirmed that it has no plans to release any original titles on its platforms during the current fiscal year. This means we won't see any major PlayStation Studios titles until early April of next year, 2025.

During the past period and what remains until the end of the current fiscal year, Sony will rely on third-party titles and timed exclusives it obtains from its partners, such as Stellar Blade, FF16, FF7 Rebirth and others, to maintain the balance of its differentiated releases.

But what is the secret behind this?

The secret is that developing video games has become very expensive, which requires selling many copies of these games for Sony to reach the point of profit after covering the costs of developing, producing and marketing these games.

Through unofficial reports, we learned that Spider-Man 2's production and marketing costs reached US$1,400,000,000. Although Sony needed to sell over 7 million copies to cover production costs and start turning a profit, the game's sales have thankfully reached 12 million units in the latest figures.

But this may not happen with a completely new title, as a title like Spider-Man is incredibly popular and will find significant demand from audiences who love this iconic character. Although if Sony wanted to launch a new title, it could be a significant risk, given that there are currently approximately 60 million PlayStation 5 devices on the market.

After Sony pressured all of its studios to work on next-gen titles, this reduced the percentage of sales that could be made for any of these titles. The PlayStation 4 has a huge base, more than double that of the PlayStation 5. But it's impossible to tap into that audience at this stage because the Sony Studios titles currently in development are all prepared only for next-gen.

This matter will place Sony before an inevitable decision: to delay the release of its new titles as much as possible and handle them with sensitivity and precision to avoid falling into a tunnel of losses due to lack of sales, which is due to the small fan base of the PlayStation 5 device. At the same time, counting on two elements:

the first: Third-party and partner games can bridge this gap for a while, although it poses a significant risk if the title is intended solely for the new generation. We saw this with Square Enix games, which, in a strict decision, ended exclusivity contracts and began releasing its future titles on all platforms. This is due to the decline in PlayStation 5 sales.

the second: Live service games, such titles, don't require a large development budget and, at the same time, can be released on new- and previous-generation platforms, in addition to PC. Not to mention the significant returns Sony can reap from this type of game, and Sony's experience has already been successful with Helldivers 2.

Sony can release as many first-party titles on the PlayStation 5 platform as possible by following any of the above points. Conversely, it should maximize platform sales to reach a safe threshold that can guarantee strong sales for any of these titles upon their release.

Rockstar is pursuing the same strategy as Sony, having delayed the release of GTA 6 as much as possible because the game is targeted at the new generation of non-PC home platforms. This issue could put the company at risk of hindering the rapid adoption of these devices, and to overcome these concerns, Rockstar is trying to delay the game's release as much as possible.

GTA 6, after being scheduled for release in early 2025, was internally delayed to the end of the same year. While Rockstar hopes that current home devices will see an improvement in sales and reach numbers that could guarantee significant sales by the time the game launches,

Do you think this is actually the strategy that's been leading Sony to delay the release of its new titles on the PlayStation 5 platform recently? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.