How PlayStation broke its hardware and active user records in Q4

Sony released its financial results for calendar Q4 2024. Here are the high-level results:

• Sony generated revenues of $27.9 billion
• As always, its Game & Network Services (G&NS) Segment – PlayStation – was the biggest segment (38%)
• Sony Music accounted for 11% and Sony Pictures for 9% of revenue share respectively

We will now focus on Sony’s biggest revenue driver, games. G&NS revenues were $10.6 billion in Q4, up 16% year-on-year and driven by:

1. An increase in hardware units sold (hardware revenues were up 23%)
2. Software revenue growth from non-first-party games (like Call of Duty Black Ops 6) – as well live-service leaders like Roblox and Fortnite

Q4 2024 was quiet for PlayStation first-party blockbusters– especially compared to Q4 2023, when Spider-Man 2 launched. While Astro Bot – Q4 2024’s first-party flagship – impressed critics and core fans, its sales were not as strong as Spider-Man 2.

Astro Bot sold 1.5 million copies in two months versus Spider-Man 2’s 6.0 million in eleven days. Sony did not release sales figures for its LEGO Horizon Adventures game.

Across the board, PlayStation performed well, leading it to boost its profit forecast by 3% for the FY period ending March 2025.

It also set a record for PlayStation Network MAUs (129 million):

Total play time grew 2% year-on-year, marking the seventh consecutive quarter of year-on-year growth. However, MAUs grew 5% year-on-year (from 123 to 129 million), suggesting that average play time per player has declined.

PlayStation Plus saw its revenues rise 20% year-on-year, mostly due to increasing average revenue per user (ARPU) – something we predicted in our games forecast.

Q4 2024 was Sony’s best quarter yet for PS5 console sales

Hardware sales were especially impressive. Sony sold 9.5 million PlayStation 5 consoles in Q4 – no doubt boosted by the release of its high-end PS5 Pro, targeting superfans.

Of course, we can again see the usual seasonal pattern, Q4 being the strongest hardware quarter all year, owing to the holiday period.

Q4 2024 also saw the most PS5s PlayStation has ever sold in a quarter. Its previous record was 8.2 million in Q4 2023, when the PS5 Slim launched (with some with increased supply).

‘’More than 40% of users who purchased a PS5 during the quarter were new users,’’ said Sony’s new President and CEO, Hiroki Totoki in his speech.

This suggests two things:

1. Over 3.8 million consoles were for new PlayStation gamers, helping to explain the big spike in MAUs in Q4 (year-on-year and quarter-to-quarter)
2. Around 60% of Q4 2024 console sales (roughly 5.7 million units) came from current PlayStation gamers upgrading from a PS4 (or from a PS5 to PS5 Pro).

PlayStation’s Q4 2024 hardware revenues (+23% year-on-year) are especially notable, as Nintendo and Xbox declined 30% and 29%, respectively. However:

• Xbox has shifted from a hardware brand to a software and services one
• Xbox is essentially now one of the biggest third-party console / PC publishers, thanks to its acquisition of Activision Blizzard and Bethesda and moves onto non-Xbox platforms
• The Switch is at the end of its product lifecycle, as Nintendo is transitioning to the Switch 2

PlayStation’s Q4 2024 hardware success is no surprise. Beyond the PS5 Pro launch pushing superfans to buy another machine:

• Strong Black Friday discounts likely enticed many consumers
• Some were likely preparing for the launch of Grand Theft Auto 6 (GTA 6)
• Availability is now less of an issue for PS5s, as supply chains eased up last year following the semiconductor chip shortage  

PlayStation’s impressive hardware sales are counter to the narrative in some circles: that consoles are dead. They are not. 

GTA will help make future quarters very lucrative for PlayStation (and perhaps others)

As we discussed in our 2025-2031 global games forecasts, we expect the launch of the GTA 6 to bring more consumers into the PS5- and Xbox Series-generation fold globally – just like EA College Football 25 did in the US market.

PlayStation, Xbox, and perhaps even Nintendo eventually will benefit greatly, taking a 30% cut of sales from GTA 6 and its in-game purchases.

What’s more, Grand Theft Auto 6 will likely not be free-to-play, so a PlayStation Plus Essential or Xbox Game Pass Core (formerly Gold) will be necessary to play online – that's more revenue for the platform holders.

Curious about game subscription revenues? Download this free report.

It would be wise of Xbox to market its budget Series S console heavily – perhaps even offering a sub-$200 fire sale – ahead of GTA 6’s launch to help build some ground on the hardware front.

What is ahead for PlayStation?

PlayStation held a State of Play marketing event on February 12, providing more details about third- and first-party games alike.

The coming months will mostly be about third-party games, like Monster Hunter Wilds and Assassin’s Creed Shadows. In fact, the console release schedule is packed for the rest of the year, with big-franchise games like Borderlands, Metal Gear, Doom, and – of course – GTA on the horizon.

On the first- and second-party front, PlayStation has two 2025 blockbusters, Ghost of Yotei and Death Stranding 2 – as well as the second season of HBO’s The Last of Us.

Longer term, there is the rumoured native portable PlayStation – a companion device that would help PlayStation maximise its share of the attention economy.

After all, PlayStation not only competes with Xbox and Nintendo but also TikTok, Netflix, and even books. It is a battle for time and attention. Social media is eating entertainment. But Sony is biting back.

What else is in store for the games market in 2025 and beyond? Download the free version of our 2025-2031 global games forecast to find out.