The video games industry is bigger than it's ever been, with the Nintendo Switch becoming one of the best selling consoles of all time and the PS5 currently outpacing the PS4 despite supply setbacks. Even so, it is surprising to see just how lucrative the current generation has been for Sony, with the PS5 having generated more profit than all previous PlayStation consoles combined.

As reported by industry analyst Daniel Ahmad, during Sony’s most recent Business Segment Meeting the company revealed that so far the PlayStation 5 generation has ‘generated’ over $13 billion in profits across its hardware and software.

While an impressive figure in its own right, what is perhaps even more interesting is the fact that this represents more profit than Sony’s previous four home console generations combined – with profits for the prior systems being as follows:

• PS1: $3 Billion
• PS2: $2 Billion
• PS3: -$4 Billion
• PS4: $9 Billion

Of course, this isn’t too surprising when considering the fact that the 8th/9th generations have witnessed the rise of multiplayer live service games and ‘micro’ transactions – both of which generate a significant portion of PlayStation’s profits.

In addition, the rise of digital media means that the costs of selling and distributing games has become exponentially cheaper to operate.

Tie this in with the general growth of the industry and it begins to make sense as to how this generation has already surpassed all others combined. It’ll be curious to see just how much profit the PS5 will have made when all is said and done.

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KitGuru says: Are you surprised by these numbers? Will the PS5 break $20 billion? Let us know down below.

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