Bye Microsoft did everything I could to trip due to price increases and changes to Xbox Game PassPlayStation had a less controversial year.
Without Concord– spankings, PlayStation 5 simply continued to trade with a relatively small line of exclusives. Sony even felt charitable enough to post Helldivers 2 on Xbox, seemingly marking the end of the console wars while simultaneously receiving Mechanisms of War And Forza Horizon 5 in turn, but 2026 and beyond will see the return of Insomniac Games, Housemarque and possibly Naughty Dog, suggesting the quiet period won't last long.
However, with layoffs at many studios totaling more than 1,500 people in recent years, there are big questions about Bungie's future and growth in popularity. Nintendo Switch 2It wasn't exactly a perfect 2025.
Minimal hardware changes
Launched last year PS5 Proand the console has certainly gotten some love thanks to improvements for big games like Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, Ghost of Yothei, Wild Monster Hunters, Battlefield 6And Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, which makes the console much easier to recommend. Expect the following titles such as 007: First Light, sarosand much more to (hopefully) become even better on the latest hardware.
Perhaps the biggest surprise is how Microsoft games have embraced the PS5 Pro. Indiana Jones and the Big Circle And Forza Horizon 5 Both are enhanced for the PS5 Pro, meaning they're better than on Microsoft's own console.
However, other than the supercharged console, hardware news from Sony has been quiet. The company announced own speakers will appear in 2026while he was thin DualSense modification that increased battery life. A new PS5 Pro has arrivedalso the one that is lighter and colder, and FlexStrike Fighting Stick Coming Next Year.
PSVR 2 there are new games like killer And Demeo x Dungeons & Dragons: Battlemarkedbut it does feel like Sony has moved away from VR for now. It's a shame considering the headset is a huge step up from the first-gen PS4 version, but we'll see if the company tries to make VR a larger part of its output in 2026.
Things are better PlayStation Portal. Sony's remote player is very different from the PSP of yesteryear, but it now has the ability to play games from the cloud – no PS5 required. It's still tied to PlayStation Plus Premium (the most expensive membership level), but is now available to all players as of November, having been in beta for most of the year.
Finally there is nothing new DualSensebut between Icon Blue God of War model and many other new options, Sony is serving collectors well.
Get to the games
If there's one thing Sony has done consistently well over the years, it's bringing tempting exclusive games to its consoles. We'll see next year though Marvel's Wolverine, Phantom Blade 0 (also coming to PC), and saros2025 has been a quieter year for PlayStation fans than they expected.
The long-awaited film by Hideo Kojima Death continuation, On the beachmight not have convinced you if the first game hadn't convinced you, but Ghost of Yothei was another solid open world Sucker Punch adventure.
However, other than that, things were pretty quiet, and many franchises were still pretty quiet. WITH The Last of Us, God of War, unknownand more in its back pocket, Sony can afford to rotate franchises.
This year I finally saw it Grand Theft Auto 6 reveal the cover as PlayStation is apparently snapping up the marketing rights to Rockstar's next epic. This doesn't mean much for this year, especially given the numerous delays, but given this, we can expect record sales of the system this year.
However, Sony's pivot to more live-service games has stalled almost entirely. Earlier this year, the company announced layoffs due to the cancellation of games-as-a-service projects: Jade Raymond, founder of Haven Studios, left the company even before that. Fair play$ I even sent it.
Perhaps nothing better reflects the current state of Sony's live service than Bungie. The studio that headed Fate franchise since 2014 and featuring two expansions per calendar year, has found itself at the center of controversy this year.
After significant layoffs last year Destiny 2 The Edge of Fate expansion was a critical fall from 2024's The Final Shape, and while December 2025's Renegades seemed to improve things, the player count was lower than ever.
So Bungie needs a win as the company reportedly expects to be assimilated into Sony itself, losing its autonomy. This looks more likely because Marathon rolls down from 2025 to the next year after accusations of plagiarism for art in his world. It is scheduled for March 2026.
Finally, it's worth noting that Sony is releasing more of its games on PC. Star Blade took this step this year, while Lost soul aside, The Last of Us Update Part 2″And Spider-Man Marvel 2 also moved to Steam.
Human cost
Again, it's worth noting that developers, even from Sony studios, are being fired. While Sony hasn't laid off as many employees as it did in 2024, a series of layoffs in 2025 still impacted the market. PlayStation Visual Arts Group following the aforementioned cancellation of live events.
If Sony, apparently a company that sells a lot of software and hardware, is still making cuts like this, then what are we doing here?
Canceled titles reportedly included God of War spin-off, and were probably caused in one way or another by the high-profile failure Concord find an audience in 2024.
In many ways, Sony's 2025 was very similar to 2024, but with lower returns. There were exclusives, but none shone as brightly as Astro Botwhile hardware changes have been minimal since the big unveiling and release of the new PS5 Pro last year, and layoffs remain just about the only constant in the industry – not just for Sony.
WITH Marvel's Wolverine, Sarosand more planned for 2026, Sony may be determined to stop treading water – but should it do so if there's no real pressure?
The best PS5 controllers for any budget
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