Sony Raises PlayStation Outlook as Profit Climbs and PS5 Shipments Decline
PlayStation's software and services growth helped Sony's gaming division deliver ¥220.1 billion ($1.38 billion) in quarterly operating income, surpassing every quarter in the preceding two fiscal years. Sony raised its full-year forecast for the business even as PS5 shipments dropped 35% from a year earlier.
Omar Al Nuaimi
Profit growth gets a lift from last year's charges
Sony's November 5 results put Game & Network Services revenue at ¥1,208.5 billion ($7.59 billion) for the quarter ended September 30, 2026, an 8.6% increase from a year earlier. The division's operating income rose 83%, though the comparison benefited from expenses recorded in the prior-year quarter that did not recur.
Those earlier charges totaled ¥49.8 billion ($338 million): a ¥31.5 billion ($214 million) impairment of Bungie's intangible and other assets, plus an ¥18.3 billion development cost correction. Excluding them brings operating income growth to roughly 29%. Adjusted OIBDA reached ¥244.9 billion ($1.54 billion), an increase of about 23%.
Exchange rates also boosted reported revenue. Sony's quarterly report attributed ¥73.0 billion of G&NS revenue growth to currency movements. The yen averaged ¥159.3 per US dollar during the quarter, compared with ¥147.4 a year earlier.
Fewer consoles shipped, but hardware revenue holds up
Quarterly PS5 shipments fell to 2.6 million consoles from 4.0 million a year earlier. That left first-half FY2026 shipments at 4.2 million, below the 6.5 million shipped in the comparable period last year.
Lifetime shipments reached 97.9 million by September 30, up from cumulative sell-in of 93.7 million on March 31, 2026. Hardware revenue declined much less sharply than unit shipments, slipping 4.8% to ¥219.7 billion ($1.38 billion). Wccftech attributed much of that difference to pricing changes and the weaker yen.
Digital games and network services expand
Sony sold 88.2 million full games during the quarter, 7.9 million more than a year earlier. First-party titles accounted for 8.2 million units, a 30% increase. Overall game software revenue rose 12.6% to ¥708.5 billion ($4.45 billion).
Revenue from digital full games increased 23% to ¥330.8 billion ($2.08 billion). Downloads represented 78% of full-game unit sales, compared with 72% a year earlier, according to Sony's quarterly report. Add-on content, including DLC and expansions, grew 4.4%.
Network Services, which includes PlayStation Plus and advertising, generated ¥218.3 billion ($1.37 billion), up 19.5%. Wccftech described it as the division's fastest-growing line, continuing several quarters of growth. Monthly active users increased from 119 million to 127 million, the largest second-quarter total Sony has disclosed.
Among Sony's recent releases, Insomniac's Marvel's Wolverine reached sell-through of 2.4 million copies by November 4, 50 days after its September 15 launch. The figure broadly supported earlier Alinea Analytics estimates. Sony's comparison table listed 2.5 million copies for Marvel's Spider-Man 2 on its first day and 3.3 million for Ghost of Yōtei after 32 days, putting Wolverine behind both.
Wccftech viewed the quarter as further evidence that software and services now form the core of PlayStation's business, linking that shift to Sony's decision to stop manufacturing physical discs beginning in January 2028.
PlayStation's annual forecast moves higher
Sony now forecasts full-year G&NS sales of ¥4,830 billion ($31.57 billion), compared with ¥4,540 billion ($29.67 billion) in its July outlook. It also increased its operating income target to ¥700 billion ($4.58 billion) from ¥660 billion ($4.31 billion). The revised operating income forecast implies 51% growth over the previous fiscal year.
Sony cited stronger third-party software sales, lower costs and continued network services growth as reasons for the upgrade. A change in the release date of a first-party title is expected to partially offset those gains.
Sony also raises group targets and dividend
Across Sony, quarterly sales increased 10% to ¥3.43 trillion. Operating profit reached ¥622.3 billion ($3.95 billion), up 45%, while net profit attributable to shareholders grew 44% to ¥449.6 billion ($2.85 billion).
The Pictures division earned ¥92.6 billion in operating profit, compared with ¥13.9 billion a year earlier. Stronger theatrical revenue, including from "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," helped drive the increase. Music operating profit rose 6% to ¥122.8 billion.
Sony added ¥150 billion to its full-year group operating profit forecast, bringing the target to ¥1.87 trillion. It raised its net profit outlook by ¥120 billion to ¥1.33 trillion and increased expected annual sales from ¥12.5 trillion to ¥13 trillion.
The company also lifted its annual dividend forecast by ¥10 to ¥35 per share. Its operating cash flow forecast remained unchanged at ¥1.6 trillion.
