Sony reports record 127 million PlayStation MAU in September 2026

Sony disclosed a record 127 million monthly active users across PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 for September 2026, a 7 percent year-on-year increase, in its Nov. 5, 2026 second-quarter results briefing.c

Sony said time spent playing on PlayStation rose 4 percent year-on-year over the quarter, and the company described a steady rise in baseline player engagement compared with the previous three months. It plans to boost engagement across 127 million PlayStation accounts and roughly 100 million PlayStation 5 consoles installed worldwide.c

Revenue for Sony’s Game & Network Services division rose 9 percent year-on-year to 1,208.5 billion yen, and operating profit climbed 83 percent to JPY 220.1 billion. Stripping out a JPY 49.8 billion prior-year one-time loss, operating income increased 29 percent year-on-year.c

Sony said Marvel’s Wolverine moved 2.4 million copies by Nov. 4, about 50 days after it came out, and pointed to the title as a driver of the division’s performance. The Ghost of Yotei title has sold 3.3 million copies since launching in October 2025, according to Sony.c

Sales for Sony’s Pictures division climbed 48 percent to JPY 513.7 billion, with Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s worldwide box office above $2.5 billion providing the lift. Company-wide revenue increased 10 percent year-over-year to JPY 3.43 trillion, and operating income jumped 45 percent to JPY 622.3 billion.c

Sony’s full-year Game & Network Services operating profit target went up by 40 billion yen to 700 billion yen. The G&NS full-year sales forecast rose 6 percent to JPY 4 trillion 830 billion, while the operating income forecast rose 6 percent to JPY 700 billion.c

Full-year guidance moved to JPY 13 trillion in revenue, JPY 1.87 trillion in operating income, and JPY 1.33 trillion in net income. The sales forecast rose 4 percent and the operating income forecast rose 9 percent, while the net income forecast climbed 10 percent to JPY 1 trillion 330 billion and operating cash flow to JPY 1 trillion 600 billion.c

The outlook takes in a 30 billion yen extra loss tied to Sony Honda Mobility and a 16 billion yen effect from the Kumamoto earthquake. Sony said consolidated operating income passed JPY 1 trillion in the first half, a historic first for the company.c

PS5 hardware sales dropped 35.0 percent compared with the same quarter in 2025, totaling 2.6 million units for the period. Sony CFO Lin Tao said the decline fits an expected phase of the console’s life cycle.c

The Sony CFO said PlayStation 6 work is on track, with solid progress expected in 2027, and that next-generation platform development remains on schedule as investment ramps in the second half. “[Next year,] we intend to make solid progress in preparing for the next-generation platform,” Tao said.c Sony plans to halt PlayStation disc production by January 2028. God of War: Laufey is set for the opening quarter of the fiscal year ending March 2028.c

Management said Q2 gains came from Marvel’s Spider-Man and strong gaming engagement, describing the amount as four digits in billions of yen. The full-year operating cash flow projection was lifted to JPY 1.6 trillion.c

Sony named MAU, play time, and ARPU as its key performance indicators. The company said content and services make up 70 percent of sales and profit, which insulates them somewhat from inflation pressure on hardware. To counter higher memory costs, it relied on promotions, price changes, and additional cost cuts, and it struck supplier deals to secure memory volumes for planned hardware sales.c

The PS5 sell-in figure reached 93.7 million units, with the count taken by March 31, 2026, and PlayStation Network counted 125 million monthly active users on that date, up 1 percent year-on-year. Lifetime sales for PlayStation 4 total 117 million units, and PlayStation 2 remains history’s best-selling console at 160 million units.c

Software sales for PS4 and PlayStation 5 reached 317.9 million units in FY2025, an annual record. Game & Network Services operating income hit a record 463.3 billion yen for FY2025. Sony’s management acknowledged recent cyberattacks and is responding by investing more in security.c

Lin Tao reported net income increased 44 percent to JPY 449.6 billion during the earnings call. “Net income increased 44% to JPY 449.6 billion,” Tao said.c

FY2025 marked the weakest yearly PS5 sales at 16.0 million units, down from a peak of 20.8 million, and Q1 FY2026 reached 1.6 million units. PlayStation Network monthly active users peaked at 133 million during FY2025 Q3, the December 2025 quarter.c

Marvel’s Spider-Man moved 26.7 million copies across PS4, PlayStation 5, and PC, making it the top-selling Sony first-party game. PlayStation Network debuted in November 2006, and it now runs on smartphones and tablets as well as HD televisions.c

Sony said its Q2 operating income upgrade came from stronger-than-expected third-party software sales and stronger engagement indicators. It also noted that hardware sales exceed initial plans.c