The PlayStation 5 hassold over 95 million units worldwide, but hardware and software sales are beginning to slow with the platform around six years into its lifecycle.
As noted inSony’s fiscal reportfor the first-quarter ended June 30, 2026, sales within the company’s Games & Network Services (G&NS) segment were essentially flat year-over-year due to a decrease in sales of console hardware and third-party software.
Operating income rose by 37 percent over the same period, partly due to the positive impact of U.S. tariff refunds. Sony expects to receive approximately 80 billion yen ($510 million) in tariff refunds during the current fiscal year (FY26).
The Japanese company will secure that rebate after theU.S. supreme court ruled that tariffs imposed by the U.S. government were illegal—a decision that prompted some consumers totake legal action against Sonyand other console makers for allegedly seeking a “double recovery windfall” after passing on the cost of some tariffs to consumers before seeking a refund.
Sony also confirmed it has secured the quantity of memory it feels will be necessary to meet its projected hardware sales during FY26. “There is no change to our plan for hardware profitability for FY26 to remain similar to FY25,” added the company.
The news comes with a global component shortage driven by widespread investment in AI data centers impacting the cost of consumer electronics,including console hardware and accessoriesfrom the likes of Microsoft, Sony, Valve, and Nintendo.
As for how people who already own PlayStation hardware are engaging with the platform, Sony said the number of monthly active users on PlayStation reached 125 million accounts in June 2026—an increase of 2 percent year-on-year.
Total playtime decreased by 4 percent over the same period, but Sony maintained that user engagement remained “solid” thanks to seasonal updates to major titles and new releases.
You might also be interested to hear that 82 percent of the 66.1 million software sales (PS4/PS5) recorded by Sony during Q1 were digital downloads. It’s an interesting tidbit givenSony is preparing to ditch physical media in 2028.
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