Even Sony Concedes: The Platform Business Now Outweighs Hardware

General news News PlayStation PlayStation News 08/09/2025

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Following Microsoft’s example, Sony is charting a similar course toward a multiplatform strategy—meaning it won’t just be live-service titles finding their way to Xbox.

Sony has released its quarterly financial results, revealing that as of the end of June 2025, total shipments of the PlayStation 5 reached 80.3 million units. The Game and Network Services (G&NS) division posted an 8% year-over-year revenue increase, totaling 936.5 billion yen ($6.35 billion). This growth was fueled primarily by stronger sales of third-party titles, though foreign exchange losses dampened the results somewhat. In light of robust user engagement trends, Sony has slightly raised its fiscal 2025 sales forecast to 4.32 trillion yen ($29.31 billion) and increased its operating income projection by 4% to 500 billion yen ($3.39 billion). Overall gameplay hours for the quarter climbed 6% compared to the same period last year.

The company also reported that operating income jumped roughly 2.3 times year-on-year, hitting 148 billion yen (around $1 billion)—a new quarterly record for the segment. This surge is attributed largely to rising third-party game sales and higher network service revenues. However, the most striking revelation for gamers came during the investor Q&A, when Sony’s Vice President of Finance and Investor Relations, Sadahiko Hayakawa, stated: “In the gaming business, we are moving away from a hardware-centric business model and shifting towards a platform business that expands the community and increases engagement.”

This vision aligns with a recently spotted job posting for a senior role overseeing multiplatform and account management, hinting that Sony plans to release more titles not only for PC but also for Xbox and Nintendo consoles—broadening the PlayStation user base and boosting those elusive monthly active users (MAUs).

If this strategic pivot takes hold, Nintendo could be the last company producing games exclusively for its own hardware—a move that could effectively signal the end of the so-called console wars.

Source: WCCFTech, Sony

Angyal Anikó

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