Sony Lifts Forecast on Music, Anime Boom as Gaming Lags

• Sony raises FY2026 operating profit forecast to ¥1.43T ($9.3B USD), up 8%.
• Music and anime are collectively expected to drive Sony’s profit.
• Gaming lags as Sony-acquired Bungie studio’s Destiny 2 underperforms.

The Sony Group updated its forecasts for the fiscal year ending in March 2026, observing an expected operating profit of ¥1.43 trillion (~ $9.3B USD). It also marked an 8% increase from its earlier August projections of ¥1.33 trillion.

Sensors used in Apple iPhones, and the success of the Demon Slayer movie are the main success drivers, pulling in profits. The image-sensor section has been doing so well that the company came out with a revised sales valuation of ¥12 trillion. The new numbers depict a modest improvement on its earlier ¥11.7 trillion estimate. As a result, Sony also reported a 10% increase in operating profit, which amounted to ¥429 billion (~ $2.8B USD) in the July-September period.

Whereas the success of the Demon Slayer movie, whose global box office exceeded $650 million USD, depicts the collective effort of Sony’s Visual Media & Platform division and music segment has bolstered its profit. This shows how Sony is now evolving from a conventional electronics player into an entertainment-focused company.

Variety reports that Aniplex, Sony’s anime arm, falling under its Visual Media & Platform division, is projected to increase the company’s quarterly revenue from ¥62.2 billion to ¥105.9 billion ($673M USD) with just Demon Slayer. The results depict more than a 70% increase as the movie's theatrical release boosted global sales of the music, licensing, and merchandise. 

Sony expects its music division to flourish more by the end of Q4. The sales for Sony Music are projected to hit ¥1.98 trillion ($12.80B USD), up 7%, while operating profit is forecast to rise 8% to ¥385 billion ($2.49B USD), said Nikkei Asia in their report. Nevertheless, despite such surging projections, Sony’s gaming business depicts a dip.

Sony’s Gaming Business Falls Short of Expectations

Due to impairment losses associated with the Destiny 2 video game, Sony posted mixed results for its gaming division in the second quarter. As reported by Reuters, Chief Financial Officer Lin Tao emphasized that the user engagement for the game was not as strong as expected. Tao further said that the gaming performance has seen a fall since the company acquired Bungie.

According to the company, 3.9 million PlayStation 5 gaming systems were sold during the quarter, representing a minor rise over the same time last year. Speaking on the same, Tao said that they “plan to expand the install base during the year-end sales season while continuing to balance that expansion with the profitability of the entire segment."

Since its release last month, Sony's most recent game, Ghost of Yotei, has sold 3.3 million copies and gotten positive reviews from gamers. Additionally, Grand Theft Auto VI, the most anticipated game, is expected to significantly enhance Sony's PlayStation business as players upgrade their systems or buy gaming hardware for the first time. However, the game has been postponed until November of next year.

But, given that rival Nintendo has increased its annual sales projection for its Switch 2 to 19 million units, considering strong customer demand since its June release, all eyes will be on Sony to see how it doubles down on its gaming sector in the upcoming months.