Sales of PlayStation's own games are experiencing a dramatic drop that does not go unnoticed by anyone in the industry. The most recent data confirms that PlayStation sold approximately 28.9 million copies in 2024 compared to the impressive 58.4 million units sold in 2020, representing practically half of the sales volume in just four years.

This trend is neither coincidence nor a temporary blip. This is a progressive decline year after year that has marked the entire PS5 generation and that raises important questions about the future of Sony's strategy in the first-party video game market.

The context of the historical peak of 2020 that was never repeated

To truly understand the magnitude of this decline we need to look in the mirror at fiscal year 2020, an exceptional period that combined historically unique conditions. The launch of the PlayStation 5 occurred right in the middle of the global lockdown due to the pandemic, generating unprecedented demand for home entertainment.

That year PlayStation had a rate of launches with enormous commercial impact that will hardly be repeated in such a short time. Titles like The Last of Us Part II, Ghost of Tsushima, Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Demon's Souls Remake arrived almost simultaneously and pushed sales to an all-time high.

The reality is that since that extraordinary peak the numbers have systematically decreased. In 2021, 43.9 million were sold, in 2022 they dropped to 43.5 million, in 2023 they reached 39.7 million and finally in 2024 they hit bottom with 28.9 million. This constant downward trajectory is what really worries analysts more than the isolated figure of a single year.

The games-as-a-service strategy did not give the expected results

The most interesting thing about this situation is that PlayStation has not stopped selling video games in general. The total software sold on PlayStation consoles remained at much higher figures with 303.3 million games sold in fiscal year 2024. The real problem is that proprietary titles have lost relative weight within that ecosystem.

The PS5 generation has been characterized by fewer big internal releases than we are used to seeing from PlayStation. We have seen a proliferation of remakes and remasters that, although they sell well, do not have the same impact as a completely new release.

The most obvious example of strategic missteps is Concord, the game that failed miserably and was quickly withdrawn from the market. But it is not the only symptom of deeper problems. The Bungie purchase closed in 2022 for $3.6 billion has come under scrutiny after Sony recorded an impairment loss of nearly $700 million linked to the studio's performance of Destiny and Marathon.

The games-as-a-service strategy that Sony invested heavily in has not given the expected results and that is directly reflected in the sales figures.

Is there light at the end of the tunnel or does the free fall continue?

The most encouraging data comes from fiscal year 2025, when sales of first-party games rose slightly to 32.1 million. This slight growth indicates that the trend may be correcting although it is still well below historical levels.

Sony seems to be aware of the problem and is preparing a State of Play of more than 60 minutes to show its cards at the end of the PS5 generation. The event will include a new look at Marvel's Wolverine, the long-awaited game from Insomniac Games that could be one of the big sales drivers that PlayStation needs.

Other expected titles such as Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet and rumors of a new God of War installment could change the dynamic if they meet expectations. The key question is whether these releases will be enough to completely reverse the downtrend or will only temporarily stop the decline.

What is clear is that PlayStation faces a real challenge that goes beyond traditional market excuses. The console continues to sell well with more than 80 million units distributed but its own software does not maintain the same pace as in previous generations. The future of Sony's first-party strategy will depend on its ability to once again create mass-selling phenomena like those that made PlayStation the market leader.