Sony has secured memory for the PS5 up to fiscal year 2026, and expects shipments in the first quarter of fiscal year 2026 to be 1.6 million units, down from 2.5 million units in the same period last year.
Sony Group announced its first-quarter financial results for fiscal year 2026 on July 31, 2026, revealing that PlayStation 5 shipments totaled 1.6 million units, down from 2.5 million units in the same period last year.
Summary of Consolidated Financial Results for the First Quarter of Fiscal Year 2026
(PDF file)
Supplementary materials for consolidated financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2026
(PDF file) https://www.sony.com/ja/SonyInfo/IR/library/presen/er/pdf/26q1_supplement.pdf
Summary of financial results for the first quarter of the fiscal year ending March 2027 [IFRS] (consolidated)
(PDF file) https://www.sony.com/ja/SonyInfo/IR/library/presen/er/pdf/26q1_sony.pdf
While PS5 shipments in the first quarter decreased compared to the same period last year, the total number of monthly active users across PlayStation reached 125 million accounts, an increase of 2 million accounts from the same month last year. This marked a record high for June, although total playtime for the quarter decreased by 4% compared to the same period last year.
Sales in the Game & Network Services segment remained almost unchanged from the same period last year at 937.1 billion yen, but operating profit increased by 37% year-on-year to 202 billion yen. Hardware revenue decreased due to a decline in the number of units sold, but profits were boosted by US tariff refunds and exchange rate fluctuations. Sony's overall operating profit also increased by 40% year-on-year to 476.5 billion yen, and the operating profit forecast for fiscal year 2026 has been raised to 1.72 trillion yen.
In order to sell the PS5 as planned, it is necessary to have a stable supply of the required components so that the console can be produced according to demand. In particular, the price of memory, which is used to temporarily store data used for processing games, has soared, and if procurement costs increase, the profitability of the PS5 console may deteriorate.
Sony has stated that, despite rising memory prices, it has already secured the memory necessary for the production of the PS5, which is scheduled to go on sale in fiscal year 2026.
Since the necessary memory has been secured, there is no change to the plan to maintain hardware profitability at the same level as the previous year in fiscal year 2026.
In addition to the challenge of how many PS5s can be produced, the way games are delivered is also undergoing a transformation. Sony has reiterated its intention to maintain its policy of ending disc production for new PlayStation games released after January 2028, citing the overall trend towards digitalization of content. In the first quarter of fiscal year 2026, digital downloads accounted for 82% of the total number of full-length games sold for PS4 and PS5.
PlayStation announces it will end disc production for new console games in January 2028, with only digital downloads available from January 2028 onwards - GIGAZINE
Sony acknowledges the strong user attachment to physical discs and explains that it will proceed with the transition cautiously, taking into account its relationships with retailers and regional circumstances.
As of the end of June 2026, cumulative shipments of the PS5 reached 95.3 million units, leaving approximately 4.7 million units to go beyond 100 million. Sony states that it will further expand the number of PS5 units in circulation while monitoring demand trends and the possibility of procuring additional memory.
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in Hardware, Posted by log1d_ts