Sony is charting a notable shift in its gaming strategy. During its Q1 2026 earnings call, Senior Vice President Sadahiko Hayakawa confirmed that PlayStation is "moving away from a hardware-centric business model more to a platform business that expands the community and increases engagement."
While this pivot may raise eyebrows, it’s not a total departure from console development as of yet. However, users are claiming that it 'sort of feels like the slow death of Playstation'. It reflects Sony’s evolving business priorities, especially as third-party software and live-service offerings contribute more significantly to revenue.
This announcement sparked a lot of speculation on Reddit, with some users understanding Sony's shift away from hardware. "Sort of feels like the slow death of Playstation. Legitimately the only reason to ever get it is because of the exclusives, everything else about them is trash compared to Xbox. More people will just move to PC. I can't even count how many times I've seen people say 'I was going to get a PS5 until I noticed all their games come to PC anyways' or something similar. And PS5 sales are actually behind PS4 sales in the same timeframe," a user said.
Hayakawa's announcement to move away from hardware has got over 1k upvotes on Reddit. Lin Tao, Sony’s CFO, revealed that Q1 FY2025 sales rose by 8 percent year-on-year to ¥936.5 billion, largely thanks to third-party software, despite forex challenges.
Further evidence of this platform-first approach is visible in Sony’s recent hiring moves, the company is actively seeking a "Senior Director of Multiplatform & Account Management" to drive the rollout of PlayStation Studios titles across digital platforms beyond its hardware, including Steam, Epic Games Store, Xbox, Nintendo, and mobile platforms.
This strategy mirrors broader trends in gaming. Helldivers 2’s release on Xbox is a clear signal that Sony sees value in cross-platform reach, especially for its live-service games. Meanwhile, by expanding beyond console exclusivity, Sony positions itself to engage a broader gaming audience and monetise its beloved franchises more effectively.
