Today, Sony posted its Q4 FY25 and full-year 2025 financial report, and in the earnings call, they also answered a question about the upcoming PS6 console.
The executives admitted they haven't yet decided on the launch timing for the next-generation PlayStation due to ongoing memory shortages, which will be a critical factor in the decision. They expect memory prices to remain high even next year and are looking at "new business models and products" to handle the issue.
It looks like the shocking rumor that Sony's PS6 might indeed be delayed to 2028 or even later may have some truth to it, after all.
Anyway, back to the financial report. Sony's continuing operations posted $82.8 billion in sales (+4% YoY) and $9.6 billion in operating income (+13% YoY), with operating margin improving from 10.6% to 11.6%. Net income attributable to stockholders actually fell 3% to $6.8 billion.
As usual, the Game & Network Services segment is Sony's largest by sales at $31.1 billion and the clear standout performer throughout the whole company. Hardware sales for the PlayStation 5 console in this fiscal year have reached 15.9 million units, beating Sony's conservative 15 million-unit forecast. However, the last quarter saw a substantial year-over-year decline: in Q4 2024, Sony shipped 2.8 million PS5 units, whereas this year, it shipped only 1.5 million. Overall, Sony shipped 93.7 million PS5 units to date.
It was network services (PlayStation Plus, PlayStation Store) that drove both sales and operating income growth. Non-first-party software sales also increased year-on-year; Monthly Active Users (MAUs) hit 125 million in March, a Q4 record high, up 1% year-on-year, and total play time in Q4 FY25 also grew 1% year-on-year.
G&NS operating income would have grown 45% year-over-year if not for the massive impairment loss of nearly $800 million taken on behalf of Bungie. On top of that, Sony had to book an additional $121M in expenses from correcting previously capitalized Bungie development costs.
Essentially, Sony has formally concluded that Bungie's asset is now worth less than what they recorded. In plain terms, it could be taken as an admission that they overpaid for it ($3.6 billion) back in 2022, as Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter had stated at the time. This is especially plain now given the poor performance of Destiny 2 and, more recently, Marathon.
Sony also shared the FY2026 forecast. Sales are guided down 6%: Sony attributes this to lower PS5 hardware unit sales, while first-party software is expected to increase. However, operating income is forecast up 30%, primarily because the aforementioned Bungie impairment won't recur, and first-party software is expected to contribute more.
Interestingly, Sony also says that FY26 G&NS operating income will be "essentially flat" vs FY25 (excluding one-time items like that impairment) because of "investments for the next-generation platform": those are the PS6 development costs. Those factors aside, Sony expects profit to grow steadily at a double-digit rate. Moreover, they said that they will base PS5 hardware production on the volume of memory they can procure at reasonable prices.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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