Ghost of Yotei Sales Drive Sony Q3 Records as PS5 Hits 92M Units

Sony Interactive Entertainment has officially confirmed that the Ghost has returned—and it’s more popular than ever. During the company’s financial call for the third quarter of fiscal year 2025, executives revealed that Sucker Punch Productions' latest open-world samurai epic has seen impressive momentum, with initial Ghost of Yotei sales officially outperforming its predecessor, Ghost of Tsushima. Launching exclusively on PlayStation 5 on October 2, 2025, the sequel was identified as the primary engine behind the PlayStation division's massive success over the holiday season.

According to Chief Financial Officer Lin Tao, the sequel didn't just meet expectations; it shattered them. Breaking down the Ghost of Yotei sales performance, Tao confirmed the title secured 3.3 million units sold worldwide within just its first 32 days on the market. Tao noted during the earnings webcast that this performance "exceeded the sales of Ghost of Tsushima in the same period of time," a feat made even more impressive by the hardware landscape. While the original game launched in 2020 to a massive PlayStation 4 audience, Ghost of Yotei achieved these numbers on the PS5, which had an install base of roughly 84 million units late in 2025. 

For perspective, the original Tsushima sold 2.4 million copies in its first three days and took about four months to hit the 5 million mark. The financial impact of this samurai success story was immediate and substantial. Sony's Games and Network Services segment reported a record-high operating income of ¥515 billion (approximately $3.2 billion) for the quarter, a 22% increase from the previous year. Digital game and add-on content revenue specifically rose 6% to reach ¥761.5 billion (approximately $4.8 billion). 

The shift toward higher-margin software sales, led by the sequel’s $70 price point, was instrumental in stabilizing the division's income. This success was further bolstered by what Tao called "stable recurring revenue" from established live-service hits like Helldivers 2 and MLB The Show, which helped offset declines in other areas.

PS5 Hardware Milestones and Future Strategy

While software is booming, the hardware market remains a challenging battleground. Sony shipped 8 million PlayStation 5 consoles during the holiday quarter, a 15.7% decrease compared to the 9.5 million units moved during the same period in 2024. Despite this dip, the console has reached a massive milestone, surpassing a cumulative total of 92.2 million units sold worldwide, as reported by GamesIndustrybiz.

"Going forward, we intend to further negotiate with various suppliers to secure enough supply to meet the demand of our customers," Tao explained. As Sony moves into the latter half of the console cycle, the strategy is shifting. Tao express ongoing concerns regarding memory shortages and cost increases, stating that the company intends to "minimize the impact of the increased memory cost" by prioritizing the monetization of the existing user base rather than aggressively pushing hardware volume. 

Tao noted that while hardware sales may naturally slow down, "software revenue from the PlayStation Store reached a record high," proving the strategy is working. Looking to the future, Tao expressed that Sony is "very confident" about the upcoming release of Marathon. Following a delay from its original September 2025 window, the highly anticipated shooter is now confirmed for release on March 5, 2026.