Sony Group President and Chief Executive Officer Hiroki Totoki believes that future PlayStation projects will greatly benefit from artificial intelligence technologies, having said as much during a recent corporate meeting. Nonetheless, the executive indicated that Sony would adopt a measured approach in adopting AI tech, stressing the importance of retaining a human touch in PlayStation game development.
Sony’s patent activity suggests the company has been actively exploring PlayStation applications of AI technology for about a decade. During that same period, the gaming giant has also worked to strengthen its expertise in the field through acquisitions of machine learning startups, the most recent of which was completed in spring 2026.
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Sony Group President and CEO Hiroki Totoki acknowledged the company’s growing focus on AI during a May 8 earnings call held after the publication of the tech giant’s consolidated financial report for fiscal year 2025. “AI is a powerful tool, but not a replacement for artists or creators,” the executive said. Using more aspirational language, Totoki characterized AI as “an amplifier of human imagination and a catalyst for new possibilities.”
AI Will Support PlayStation’s Entertainment Mission, Exec Says
On the subject of AI applications in gaming and the broader entertainment industry, Totoki said the technology’s potential extends well beyond mere efficiency gains. He argued that AI could make previously impossible projects viable by allowing them to scale in new ways. Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Hideaki Nishino also addressed the topic during the same earnings call, describing AI as a “powerful tool” that will support PlayStation’s ever-evolving mission to offer the best platform for both players and developers.
During the same earnings call, Totoki also fielded a question about the ongoing memory crisis and its potential impact on the PlayStation 6. The executive indicated that Sony remains deep in the development process for its next-generation console, saying that the PS6’s price has not yet been decided. Likewise, he confirmed that the PS5 successor’s release window has yet to be determined. Addressing memory prices more broadly, Totoki acknowledged them as an ongoing business challenge, noting that Sony is closely monitoring the supply situation and will respond as needed. He ended that line of discussion on a more unexpected note, saying Sony is considering “new potential ways” of selling the PS6 depending on future circumstances, though it is currently unclear what those options might entail. Whenever it reaches the market, the PS6 seems likely to continue Sony’s broader push into AI-assisted gaming technology. While the specifics remain unclear, dedicated AI rendering hardware currently appears to be one of the safer bets, with the console potentially designed around more pervasive use of upscaling and image reconstruction.
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Sony’s interest in artificial intelligence is not limited to gaming, instead spanning multiple industries. That broader focus was most recently underscored by Sony’s acquisition of Cinemersive Labs, a UK-based AI startup specializing in converting images into 3D media formats suitable for augmented and virtual reality viewing. The deal was completed in early April 2026 for an undisclosed sum, after which Cinemersive Labs was folded into Sony’s Visual Computing Group.
