Development on Sony’s upcoming PlayStation 5 console, as well as their own first-party games, is still on track, the company has revealed in a statement.
There have been concerns that the upcoming release of the PlayStation 5 console will be delayed or hindered as a result of the on-going Coronavirus crisis that has seen many employees working from home, as well as supply chains affected.
Sony did acknowledge that there have been added challenges as a result of the ongoing predicament, mainly with regards to testing and the ‘qualification of production lines’. Employees working from home, as well as limitations on international travel, have also presented their own problems. Thankfully though, it appears that none of these issues have negatively impacted the development of Sony’s next-gen console nor their upcoming games.
“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 parts 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 clarified that development of their own first-party games or those from partner studios are also still on track.
“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.”
Production of PlayStation 4 hardware has been affected slightly, however, as a result of issues in the supply chain relating to certain components, although Sony says that the demand is being addressed in the short-term with their current inventory.
“Although there has been a slight impact on production of PS4 hardware due to issues in the component supply chain, demand in the short-term is being addressed with current inventory and sales are trending well,” Sony said in its statement.
In other good news, Sony revealed that digital game sales, as well as the number of subscribers to PS Plus and PlayStation Now, has increased significantly, helping put Sony in a strong position leading up to the release of the next generation.
“Sales of game software that is downloaded from the network, as well as PS Plus and PlayStation Now (PS Now) subscriber numbers have significantly increased.
As things stand, you can still expect to see the launch of the new PlayStation 5 this holiday season along with its planned launch titles.