PlayStation could use more hits, amid first-party game sales decline

June 2, 2026 - 11:49

Each year since 2020, Sony has sold millions fewer copies of the games it makes for its PlayStation consoles. That is, until a small uptick in the past year. The data comes from Sony's own financial reports, compiled by Game File.

At its recent peak, between spring 2020 and winter 2021, Sony sold 58.4 million copies of its first-party games. That stretch included massive hits like The Last of Us Part II and Ghost of Tsushima, plus the launch of the PlayStation 5. Four years later, in a 12-month cycle that included Game of the Year winner Astro Bot and the notorious flop Concord, Sony sold less than half that number.

The most recent total, covering first-party PlayStation games sold on PS4 and PS5 from April 2025 through March 2026, showed the first improvement in five years. It reached 32.1 million copies sold. That modest rebound came in a year that featured the marquee release Ghost of Yotei.

The steady decline since 2020 is visible in Sony's annual financial results, published each May. The company has included a total for "first party titles" since then, even sharing historical sums back to 2018. Looking at the full picture, the drop may help explain why many PlayStation fans feel something has been off with Sony's gaming group since the PS5 generation started.

PlayStation still sells millions of consoles each year and produces multi-million-selling games. But a half-decade filled with studio acquisitions has failed to significantly reverse the downward trend in copies of Sony's own games sold. A recent wave of remakes and remasters has not bent the curve upward either.

The decline in bona fide Sony-backed hits is why events like the recent PlayStation State of Play generate so much excitement among fans. That showcase is already set to feature the upcoming Wolverine game from Insomniac, one of Sony's top studios. More of Sony's game teams feel due to deliver, though whether they will remains to be seen.

Some context is needed. The peak year of 58.4 million copies sold was also the year of the global pandemic. Covid lockdowns spiked interest in home entertainment, including video games. But if the drop were just a post-pandemic comedown, total game sales on PlayStation consoles would be down similarly. Sony's data shows they are not.