Sony Is Skipping CES for the First Time Since 1967, as It Steps Back From Honda’s EV Project
Sony has confirmed it will not have a presence at CES 2027 in Las Vegas, and according to Bloomberg’s report on the decision, that breaks an attendance streak going all the way back to the show’s 1967 debut, the first time in company history it has sat the event out. The news broke on September 28 and picked up widely across outlets the following day, with Sony framing the move as a shift in priorities rather than a retreat from technology altogether.
Ending a Streak That Goes Back Six Decades
Sony has used its CES keynote and show floor space for everything from TVs and audio gear to some of PlayStation’s biggest tech reveals, so skipping the event entirely is a notable break in pattern rather than a routine scale-back. In its statement on the decision, Sony said it’s now concentrating on “technology geared to support creators,” pointing toward entertainment, music, and film as the company’s core focus going forward rather than the broad consumer electronics push CES has traditionally represented for Sony.
Sony’s CES keynote visual from a recent Sony press conference
What It Means for Future PlayStation Reveals
CES has occasionally doubled as a PlayStation stage in the past. Sony used its January 2020 CES press conference to unveil the PS5’s official logo and branding, PlayStation Now was announced at CES back in January 2014, and PSVR2 got a hardware reveal at CES 2022. None of those were console launches or major game announcements, and PlayStation’s day-to-day business, including its game studios and hardware releases, isn’t reported to be affected by the CES decision itself. But it does mean Sony loses one more calendar moment where a PlayStation surprise could plausibly land, and future reveals of that kind will need a different venue, most likely Sony’s own State of Play broadcasts or its September/February showcase slots.
A Wider Pullback, Not Just a CES Snub
The CES exit lines up with a broader recalibration at Sony. Sony Honda Mobility’s Afeela electric vehicle, which shared CES stage time with Sony as recently as last year, is reportedly being reassessed by both companies rather than pushed forward as planned, and reporting on the CES decision ties the two moves together as part of the same strategic pullback from ventures outside Sony’s entertainment core. It’s a similar theme to what’s been playing out on the PlayStation side lately too, where Sony has been recalibrating its approach to physical game discs and facing pushback over the pace of that shift. Sony hasn’t detailed what, if anything, replaces its CES presence going forward, and it’s worth noting that outlets differ slightly on how final the Honda venture’s fate actually is, so treat that specific detail as still developing rather than settled.
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Picture Source: Sony
