Sony closed the second quarter of its 2025 fiscal year with a pair of headline numbers that underline the PlayStation business’s resilience: PlayStation 5 shipments have topped 84.2 million units worldwide, and first‑party release Ghost of Yōtei sold 3.3 million copies in its first 32 days on sale. Those figures helped the company lift its full‑year games revenue outlook even as one‑time charges tied to Bungie trimmed profitability for the quarter.
Milestones on hardware and software
Sony reported that 3.9 million PS5 units shipped in the three months ended September 30, 2025, bringing the console’s lifetime total to 84.2 million. That pace puts the PS5 close to where the PS4 was at the same point in its life cycle — the PS4 had sold roughly 86 million systems on a time‑aligned basis — a comparison industry observers have highlighted as a marker of the current generation’s healthy momentum.
On the software side, PlayStation full‑game sales across PS5 and PS4 reached 80.3 million units in Q2, up from 77.7 million a year earlier. First‑party titles accounted for 6.3 million of those sales; Ghost of Yōtei alone accounted for 3.3 million copies during the 32 days following its October 2 launch.
Analysts and trackers have been cautiously upbeat about the opening for Yōtei. Circana’s Mat Piscatella characterized the launch as “perfectly fine... Not amazing, not bad,” noting comparisons with the original Ghost of Tsushima’s different market conditions — larger PS4 install base, a summer 2020 release during pandemic lockdowns, and a lower launch price.
Revenue growth, subscription strength and digital shift
Sony’s Game & Network Services (G&NS) segment reported net sales of roughly ¥2.1 trillion (about $13.6 billion) for the six months ended September 30, 2025, a year‑on‑year increase. Network services — principally PlayStation Plus — were a standout: subscription and online revenue rose more than 13% versus the prior year to about ¥182.6 billion in the quarter, and monthly active users on PlayStation Network ticked up to 119 million.
The company also continues to move away from discs: roughly 72% of software sales in the quarter were digital, reinforcing PlayStation’s long‑standing shift toward downloads, add‑on content and live‑service revenue.
Profitability hit by Bungie impairment
Despite top‑line gains, G&NS operating income fell in the quarter, down roughly 13% year‑on‑year. Sony attributed the decline mainly to impairment and related adjustments connected to Bungie and Destiny 2. Reports of the filings show impairment and correction items totaling several tens of billions of yen — a one‑off drag that left Sony keeping its operating‑income forecast steady even as it nudged up sales expectations.
In response to the quarter’s results, Sony raised its full‑year sales forecast for the G&NS segment to about ¥4.4 trillion, a modest increase from the projection issued in August. The company did not change its operating‑income forecast, signaling confidence in revenue growth but caution about near‑term margins after the accounting charges.
Context and what’s next
Executives and commentators have pointed to a number of factors likely to shape PlayStation’s performance through the holiday season and into 2026:
- A steady pipeline of first‑party and third‑party releases — including high‑profile holiday and next‑year titles — should support both hardware demand and digital spend.
- Ghost of Yōtei still has tailwinds ahead: a planned multiplayer expansion, Ghost of Yōtei: Legends, and the likely eventual arrival of a Director’s Cut on PC could extend sales longevity.
- Major third‑party releases such as GTA 6 and other tentpole games slated for late 2026 could influence console buying patterns and install‑base growth.
Market watchers note that holiday buying — including upgrades to a rumored PS5 Pro and renewed interest in PlayStation accessories and services — could lift hardware shipments in coming quarters. Sony’s near‑term performance will hinge on converting the large PlayStation Network audience into ongoing digital and subscription revenue while managing profitability headwinds.
A cautiously optimistic picture
The quarter’s numbers paint a mixed but largely positive portrait: hardware momentum and a strong digital and subscription base have enabled Sony to raise revenue expectations, but accounting charges tied to Bungie highlighted how acquisitions and live‑service investments can produce short‑term volatility in earnings. For now, the PlayStation business looks to be in firm position: the PS5’s lifetime shipments are closing in on PS4 levels at the same age, Ghost of Yōtei has posted a solid early start, and digital revenues and a 119‑million‑strong monthly audience give Sony multiple levers to pull as it heads into a critical holiday window and into 2026.