Today, during Sony’s quarterly conference call for investors and analysts, Chief Financial Officer Lin Tao offered more color on the PlayStation business and the plans for PS5.
During the livestreamed conference, Tao mentioned that the number of monthly active users on PlayStation in December 2025 broke all historical records, while total playtime for the holiday quarter increased 0.4% year-on-year.
Software revenue for the PlayStation Store was also a record-high during the quarter, with PlayStation Plus significantly contributing as well, as people shift to higher tiers.
Speaking of the ongoing memory shortage, Sony is already in a position to secure the minimum quantity necessary to manage the Holiday season of the next fiscal year, and intends to further negotiate with various suppliers to secure enough memory to meet customer demand.
Given the stage of the console cycle, Tao Continued, the hardware sales strategy can be adjusted flexibly, and Sony intends to minimize the impact on the business of increased memory costs by prioritizing monetization of the current install base and striving to further expand software and network services revenue.
Later in the Q&A, Tao explained further that since it’s later in the console cycle, Sony already expected a gradual decline in hardware sales, so the company has a wide range of options on how to approach the issue.
We also hear that Ghost of Yōtei exceeded the sales of its predecessor in the same period of time and significantly contributed to revenue in the quarter.
Established live service games like Helldivers 2 and MLB: The Show 25 also contributed a stable recurring revenue, while Son expects that Bungie’s Marathon will be enjoyed by many users, since the developer strengthened the game’s experience.
Next fiscal year, Sony will release Marvel’s Wolverine and Saros, with the intention of enhancing the effort to increase the revenue of the PlayStation Studios business.
During the following Q&A, Tao mentioned that following player testing and having implemented the feedback, Sony is very confident about the release of Marathon. She also mentioned that it’s important to have live service hits due to their recurring revenue, but there’s no need to have too many of them, instead seeking a balance with triple-A games.
Tao also explained that the lower-priced Japan-only PS5 was launched to increase the console’s presence on the domestic market, and users appreciated the initiative, which created an uplift in sales. This has strategic significance in the mid-to-long term, as Sony wants many Japanese users to purchase the console, so local publishers will create great games for them.
Asked about generative AI, Tao mentioned that it can change the process from idea to game in the long term, but it’s still early to say what the impact will be, including on costs. For now, while it’s early to draw conclusions, Sony promotes the use of generative AI, especially in game development, and Tao added that if generative AI disrupts the existing process, Sony would rather be the one doing the disrupting rather than being disrupted.
Answering a further question on the topic, Tao mentioned that she believes we’re in a test phase before commercialization for generative AI. It can be a toolbox integrated with the sensibility of the artists to create entertainment. She doesn’t believe it’s a threat, and she believes it’s Sony’s mission to support creators using it to create commercial products.
If you’d like to hear more about Sony’s financial performance, you can read our dedicated article from earlier today, including an update on PS5 lifetime sales.
