In a recent financial update published by Sony, record growth was outlined within the PlayStation ecosystem. It was revealed that, to date, more than 54 million PlayStation 5 units have been shipped globally, with a massive 8.2 million of those being shipped in Q3 FY23 – the last three months of 2023. It’s a monumental testament to the ongoing consistency of the PlayStation brand, which time and again proves why it’s the undisputed champion of the last two generations of gaming.

Not only that but Sony also confirmed that almost 90 million games were sold across PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 platforms in the last three months of 2023. There was a lead established by digital downloads, too – 66% of all software sales were digital, Sony confirmed.

PlayStation on Top

Sony’s most recent financial update has shown the staying power of the PlayStation 5 platform in clear numbers. This multi-billion-dollar platform is dominating the gaming space and a strong year in 2023 bolstered by top-tier exclusive games has kept hardware sale rates soaring high. It was revealed by Sony that a whopping 123 million MAUs were recorded using the PlayStation Network in Q3 FY23 – the highest figure ever logged. Put simply, there are more users in the PlayStation ecosystem than ever before.

In terms of a breakdown of games, Sony stated that Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 has now sold 10 million copies since being released in October 2023. The best-selling first-party PlayStation game is still God of War, which has sold 23 million copies since 2018, aided by the game’s recent release on PC platforms. Following close behind is 2017’s Horizon Zero Dawn, which has sold 20 million copies since it was released. It was disclosed that PlayStation Plus has 47.4 million subscribers, revealing that the service is rapidly challenging Microsoft’s ‘Game Pass’ offering on Xbox and PC platforms.

There’s a bright year in store for PlayStation players. It was just weeks ago that The Last of Us Part II Remastered was released, but there are plenty of games lined up that are exclusive to the platform (or launching on PS5 and PC):

Pacific Drive
Rise of the ROnin
FF7 Rebirth
Stellar Blade
Death Stranding 2
Marvel’s Wolverine
Phantom Blade 0

It’s not yet known what’s happening with PlayStation hardware in 2024. There are expectations that a PS5 Pro product will be released eventually, and there were recent rumours of a PlayStation handheld being in development – but at present, those claims are unconfirmed.

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