PS5 still planned for Holiday 2020, despite COVID-19

Despite COVID-19, Sony is still committed to releasing PS5 in the Holiday 2020 launch window as planned initially, the company has revealed.

As part of the documents shared with the FY 2019 fourth-quarter earnings report, the platform owner has mentioned that its schedule involving the next-gen console has not changed. Problems have arisen related to testing and qualification of the production lines but have been overcome, according to the label.

“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 part 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 also revealed that game development has not faced disruptions as a direct consequence of the pandemic, so its next-gen lineup has not been impacted until now. Players should not notice any difference when PS5 releases later in the year.

“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,” the publisher noted.

Sony has not announced any next-gen production at the time being, even though the first details are expected to be disclosed in early June.

On that front, PlayStation Studios has been announced as a major reorganization of the internal software houses‘ branding and will be at the forefront when PS5 games launch starting in 2020.

That won’t involve titles releasing on PS4 and PC in the first half of the year, though, so don’t expect Ghost of Tsushima – which will star the next State of Play this week – to have the new intro animation when it releases on July 17.