PS5 hits 59m as Helldivers 2 breaks PlayStation’s launch sales record
Sony says its live service game hit Helldivers 2 is now PlayStation’s fastest-selling game launch ever, with sales “far exceeding expectations” at 12 million copies sold across PC and PS5 in its first 12 weeks.
The sales mean that the title, which was launched earlier this year, beat the 11 million copies in 10 weeks achieved by God of War Ragnarok last year, it said.
In the company’s financial results for the year ended March 31, 2024, Sony’s gaming division reported another record year in terms of revenue, despite PS5 hardware sales falling short of its original 12-month target by over 4 million units.
Sony shipped some 20.8 million PlayStation 5 consoles during the fiscal year, for a life-to-date total of 59.3 million. Its original, lofty, sales target for the year was 25 million units, but this was revised down to 21 million in February.
This means that PlayStation 5 is virtually in line with where PlayStation 4 was during the same period of its lifespan (60 million units shipped).
Sales increased 17% year-on-year to 4.26 trillion yen, which the company attributed to an increase in sales of non-first-party titles, including add-on content, and the impact of foreign exchange rates. During a webcall, the company also specifically highlighted the performance of Helldivers 2.
Sony reiterated it expects gaming sales to decrease in its current fiscal year, ending March 2025, due to an expected decrease in sales of hardware, now forecast at 18m units. The company previously confirmed it’s planning no “major existing franchise titles” during this 12-month period.
However, the company reiterated its plans to release Concord, the new online shooter IP from UK-based Firesprite, sometime this year.
Sony’s Network services revenue – which encompasses PS Plus and advertising revenue – increased again to its highest level since 2022’s service revamp at ¥545.5 billion (up from ¥464.6 billion last year).
PlayStation Network monthly active users (MAU) are up by 10 million year-on-year at
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