Sony PS5 crosses 100 Million sales milestone just days before GTA 6 launch

Sony has officially crossed a massive milestone with the PlayStation 5. The popular gaming console has now shipped over 100 million units worldwide. This major achievement comes just days before the highly anticipated launch of Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto VI on November 19, 2026.With the holiday season approaching and the biggest game of the decade arriving, Sony is in a very strong position to see even higher sales.The 100 million milestoneAccording to Sony’s latest business update, the PlayStation 5 crossed the 100 million mark on November 10, 2026. This is a huge deal, especially considering the severe supply chain issues and chip shortages the console faced when it first launched in November 2020.To put this growth into perspective, Sony reported that PS5 shipments stood at 97.9 million units on September 30, 2026. This means the company managed to ship over 2.1 million consoles in just about 40 days. It is important to note that these figures represent "sell-in" numbers, meaning consoles shipped to retailers, rather than units sold directly to customers.The PS5 is now the fourth Sony home console to join the exclusive 100-million club. It achieved this feat in nearly six years, which is just slightly slower than the PlayStation 4, which took about five years and seven months. Currently, the PS5 sits behind the original PlayStation (102.4 million units), the PlayStation 4 (over 117 million units), and the all-time leader, the PlayStation 2 (over 160 million units).The unmatched hype of GTA 6The timing of this milestone is impossible to ignore. GTA 6 is scheduled to launch on November 19 for the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Since the new game will not run on the older PlayStation 4, anyone who wants to play it on a Sony console will be forced to upgrade to a PS5.The excitement for GTA 6 is already translating into record-breaking numbers. Industry estimates suggest the game has already crossed $1 billion in digital pre-order revenue.Sony is the biggest winner here. About 75 per cent of all GTA 6 pre-orders are for the PS5. The company has even confirmed that GTA 6 is now the most pre-ordered game in PlayStation Store history. Sony expects this massive demand to convince many holdouts to finally buy a PS5 during the upcoming holiday season.A thriving PlayStation ecosystemIt is not just the hardware that is doing well; the entire PlayStation ecosystem is booming. Sony recorded a massive 127 million monthly active users across the PS4 and PS5 as of September 30, 2026.Sony expects a blockbuster hit like GTA 6 to keep these numbers high for a while, boosting game sales, engagement, and PlayStation Plus subscriptions long after the launch week.Preparing for the PlayStation 6Hardware sales naturally slow down as a console gets older, and Sony expects the PS5 demand to ease off gradually in the next financial year. Even as the PS5 celebrates its success, Sony is already working on its next-generation console, widely expected to be the PlayStation 6.While the company has not announced any official release date or specifications for the PS5 successor, preparations are on track. Sony has noted that navigating rising memory and storage prices, while keeping hardware profitable, are top priorities for the next generation.For now, Sony is focused on keeping players engaged and stretching the PS5's lifespan with massive game releases like GTA 6.- Ends