Sony's PlayStation Profits Soar 83% in Q2 FY2026 Even as PS5 Sales Collapse 35%

Sony’s PlayStation business reported higher revenue and profits for the quarter ending September 30, 2026, despite a sharp decline in PS5 console sales. Growth in digital games, software, and network services helped offset weaker hardware shipments.

Sony’s Game & Network Services division generated ¥1.2085 trillion ($7.59 billion) in revenue, an 8.6% increase year over year. Operating income jumped 83% to ¥220.1 billion ($1.38 billion), although last year’s one-time charges contributed to the large increase.

PlayStation profits jump 83% as software and services grow

Sony reported ¥220.1 billion in operating income, up 83% from the same quarter last year. However, the previous year’s results included ¥49.8 billion in one-time charges, including ¥31.5 billion in impairments related to Bungie. Excluding these charges, operating income increased approximately 29%.

Adjusted OIBDA also rose around 23% to ¥244.9 billion ($1.54 billion), while PlayStation recorded its highest quarterly operating income in the past two fiscal years.

Software sales played a major role in the growth. Sony sold 88.2 million full games during the quarter, up 7.9 million from a year earlier. First-party game sales increased 30% to 8.2 million units.

Game software revenue climbed 12.6% to ¥708.5 billion ($4.45 billion), with digital full-game revenue increasing 23% to ¥330.8 billion ($2.08 billion). Add-on content revenue grew 4.4%.

Network Services revenue, which includes PlayStation Plus and advertising, increased 19.5% to ¥218.3 billion ($1.37 billion). PlayStation monthly active users also reached 127 million, compared with 119 million a year earlier.

PS5 sales decline 35%, but shipments near 100 million

While software and services continued growing, PS5 hardware sales declined significantly. Sony shipped 2.6 million PS5 consoles during the quarter, down from 4 million in the same period last year, representing a 35% decrease.

For the first half of FY2026, Sony shipped 4.2 million PS5 consoles, compared with 6.5 million a year earlier. Cumulative shipments reached 97.9 million units as of September 30, bringing the console closer to the 100 million milestone.

Despite the decline in shipments, hardware revenue fell just 4.8% to ¥219.7 billion ($1.38 billion), partly due to pricing changes and currency effects. As for hardware, Sony has disclosed that it has acquired enough memory for its consoles until March 2028.

Sony also raised its full-year Game & Network Services revenue forecast from ¥4.54 trillion to ¥4.83 trillion ($31.57 billion). The company increased its operating income forecast from ¥660 billion to ¥700 billion ($4.58 billion), which would represent approximately 51% growth over the previous fiscal year.

The results show how Sony increasingly relies on digital games, add-on content, and subscriptions to maintain PlayStation’s profitability as console sales slow.

Meanwhile, the PlayStation Black Friday 2026 sale is now live, offering discounts across 2,269 PlayStation Store deals. Sony also recently delayed God of War Laufey’s release to May 2027.

In other gaming news, Microsoft’s Xbox hardware revenue dropped 14%, highlighting weaker console hardware performance across both companies.

Via Wccftech