Sony's gaming business tops $6 billion in revenue in Q2, with half of 12 live services titles delayed

Sony has released its financial report for the second quarter ended September 30. Here are the key numbers related to the company’s gaming business.

Sony's gaming business tops $6 billion in revenue in Q2, with PS5 sales surpassing 46 million

Financial highlights

According to its financial results for Q2, Sony’s Game & Network Services segment reached ¥954.1 billion ($6.32 billion) in revenue, up 32% year-over-year.
Operating profit was ¥48.9 billion ($324 million), up 16% compared to the same period last year.
The company cited an increase in sales of hardware and non-first-party titles, as well as the impact of foreign exchange rates as the main factors for revenue growth.

Game sales amounted to ¥479.3 billion ($3.2 billion), of which digital sales were ¥200.9 billion ($1.33 billion) and add-on content was ¥222.1 billion ($1.47 billion).
Hardware sales reached ¥287.5 billion ($1.9 billion). In Q2, Sony sold 4.9 million PlayStation 5 units, with its lifetime sales reaching 46.6 million by September 30.
During the three-month period, full game sales on PS4 and PS5 totaled 67.6 million units, of which 4.7 million were first-party titles. Digital sales accounted for 67% of the total.
PlayStation Network’s MAU was 107 million, compared to 102 million in the same period last year.

During an earnings call, Sony president and CFO Hiroki Totoki said PlayStation has no plans to give up on its live service strategy. However, a portfolio review by Bungie resulted in the decreased number of GaaS titles that will be released by FY25 ending March 31, 2026.
So the company currently expects to launch only six live service titles, instead of 12, by that date. But it is “still working” on the remaining six.
“That’s the total number of live service and multiplayer titles [and] mid-to-long-term we want to [push] this kind of service and that’s the unchanged policy of the company,” Totoki said. “It’s not like we stick to certain titles, but game quality should be the most important [thing].”
It is worth noting that in May, Sony told investors that it expects the share of investment in live service titles to reach 55% (vs. 45% for traditional games) in the current fiscal year and 60% in FY25.
The list of live service games that are currently under development at PlayStation includes Fairgame$ from Jade Raymond’s Haven Studios, untitled projects from Friewalk Studios and Guerrilla Games, as well as a multiplayer spin-off for The Last of Us, which is reportedly in trouble after a negative review by Bungie.