Sony has released its financial statement for the first quarter of the 2025-26 fiscal year, and sales are up compared to last year, with the company pledging to continue focusing on its live-service offerings in the future.
As revealed in the statement's accompanying financial documents, overall sales for Sony's gaming segment are up by 8% compared to the first quarter of 2024-25, and operating income more than doubled for "a new quarterly high".
These numbers are up due mainly to "increased sales of third-party software", and while Sony doesn't specify which games sold particularly well, it's very likely that games like Oblivion Remastered, Clair Obscur, and the PS5 release of Forza Horizon 5 bolstered its numbers for this quarter.
Additionally, Sony says its live-service revenue is "steadily growing" thanks to the performance of games like Helldivers 2, MLB: The Show, and Destiny 2, contributing "more than 40% of...first-party software revenue during the quarter".
In a Q&A following the release (thanks, VGC), Sony CFO Lin Tao said the company will continue to pursue live-service games despite "negative news" about its two most recent live-service releases, namely Concord and Marathon.
In case you need a reminder, Concord was unceremoniously shut down last year following a disastrous launch, while Bungie's Marathon was delayed following negative feedback from its alpha test, as well as news that the game contained art stolen from an online artist.
Tao says that despite these problems, live-service games are "contributing to sales and profits in a stable manner", citing the aforementioned three still-operational live-service games, as well as Gran Turismo 7.
With regards to single-player games, Sony is launching Ghost of Yōtei, its first major single-player tentpole release of the year, in October. The studio also points to the release of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach in June, although no sales figures are provided.
You can check out a breakdown of Sony's latest financial results, which also contains information about the company's other segments besides gaming, right here.
