Ahead of Sony's pivotal State of Play showcase, new data reveals a steady decline in first-party PlayStation game sales over the last five years, though 2025's Ghost of Yotei helped buck the trend. With the PS5 price hike and increased PlayStation Plus costs, Sony faces pressure to deliver at tonight's State of Play, which will feature a fresh look at Insomniac's Wolverine game. However, fans are eager for updates from Sony's first-party studios, many of which haven't released a new title in years.
It's not just fans demanding more; Sony needs hit games. Data reported by Game File's Stephen Totilo indicates Sony has sold millions fewer copies of its published or developed PlayStation games each fiscal year since April 2020, when lockdowns and blockbusters like The Last of Us Part II and Ghost of Tsushima drove a boom. Last year (April 2025 to March 2026) saw a slight uptick thanks to Ghost of Yotei.
While Sony has had high-profile flops like the live-service game Concord, it has also produced smash hits despite the overall sales decline. Arrowhead's Helldivers 2 remains the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game ever. Astro Bot earned critical acclaim, Insomniac's Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Spider-Man 2 sold millions, God of War Ragnarök was a huge success, and Gran Turismo 7 and Horizon Forbidden West were major launches. But remakes and remasters haven't closed the gap. Sony is selling fewer first-party games on PlayStation, which may explain its shift back to exclusivity for single-player narrative titles after a PC push.
On the bright side, total PlayStation game sales, including third-party titles, have risen in recent years. So the overall picture is positive—Sony just needs to revitalize its own lineup. The data underscores Sony's struggle to release new PS5 games this generation. While some big games have arrived, several studios haven't launched new titles in years. Naughty Dog is working on Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet but hasn't released a new game since The Last of Us Part II six years ago. Gran Turismo 7 came out four years ago as a cross-gen title, and Polyphony is due for another entry. Bend Studio's last game was 2019's Days Gone, and Media Molecule's was 2020's Dreams.
The slowdown in first-party sales is also tied to Sony's many canceled projects. Its live-service push yielded Helldivers 2 but saw The Last of Us Online canceled, Concord and Firewalk shut down, and a God of War live-service game from Bluepoint scrapped before announcement. Other canceled games include a Twisted Metal live-service title and projects at Sony Bend. Haven Studios' Fairgames is still in development but may have been renamed. These cancellations have left gaps in Sony's release schedule.
Recent first-party releases like Housemarque's Saros and Bungie's Marathon aren't included in the data but appear to have struggled sales-wise. However, future prospects look brighter with Marvel's Wolverine and Naughty Dog's Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet on the horizon. State of Play should provide more clarity on the lineup.
