Sony Reveals Marvel's Wolverine Sales Figures for the First Time, Boosts PlayStation Forecast Ahead of GTA 6

Sony has raised its sales forecast for its gaming division and, for the first time, disclosed official sales numbers for Marvel's Wolverine.

The company increased its sales forecast for the Game & Network Services Segment, which encompasses PlayStation, by 6%, attributing the bump to an "increase in sales of non-first-party game software titles." Similarly, Sony raised its profit forecast for the gaming business by 6%, also citing higher sales of non-first-party games, along with cost improvements and revenue from network services like PlayStation Plus.

It's clear what Sony is largely referring to: Grand Theft Auto 6. Sony's partnership with Rockstar Games has positioned the PS5 as the lead platform for GTA 6's marketing, to the extent that casual observers might not even realize the game is also coming to Xbox Series X and S. All gameplay shown so far has been from the PS5, and promotional materials state that GTA 6 "plays best on PS5."

Weighing on profits for the current financial year, which ends March 31, 2027, is the delay of Sony Santa Monica's God of War Laufey from February to May. However, with GTA 6 poised to become the biggest entertainment launch of all time, Sony is likely comfortable with the sales shift into its next financial year.

Meanwhile, Sony announced that Marvel's Wolverine has sold over 2.4 million units as of November 4—50 days after its launch. For context, fellow PS5 exclusive Ghost of Yotei sold 3.3 million units in 32 days, just over a month after its release in October last year. Astro Bot had sold 1.5 million copies 58 days after its 2024 launch.

Marvel's Wolverine trails Insomniac's previous title, Marvel's Spider-Man 2, which sold a massive 2.5 million on its first day (October 2023), 5 million just 11 days after launch, and 10 million after 107 days. The key question for Wolverine is how well it will continue to sell, especially with the crucial holiday season approaching.

Here's what Sony said about Wolverine today:

"Regarding first-party titles, cumulative sales of Marvel's Wolverine, released in September, exceeded 2.4 million units, contributing to the improved results of the entire segment for the quarter. We leveraged our expertise building the Marvel's Spider-Man franchise to create a differentiated action game experience for Marvel's Wolverine. Users have praised the new title for its highly immersive action, high-quality production, and richly layered storytelling."

PS5 sales continue to decline, as Sony had anticipated at this stage of the console's lifecycle, but the company insisted that "the PS platform continues to expand and grow in a stable manner."

Sony also briefly touched on its plans for the next generation of hardware, which is expected to include a PS6 and possibly a handheld. "Looking ahead to next fiscal year, we aim to continue to enhance user engagement and further strengthen monetization through the release of strong titles and the expansion of our service. We also intend to make solid progress in preparing for the next generation platform."

Other notable financial results include monthly active users (MAUs) across the PlayStation platform increasing 7% in September compared to the same month of the previous fiscal year, reaching a record high of 127 million accounts for September. Sony said this indicates that "the baseline of engagement is steadily improving."

Sony has of course raised the price of the PS5 in response to memory scarcity fueled by the AI boom, but it downplayed the impact on its bottom line. "With regard to PlayStation (PS5) hardware, we have been able to offset the rise in memory prices through adjustments to promotions and pricing, as well as additional cost-reduction, and we expect hardware profitability for the current fiscal year to remain on par with the previous fiscal year," it said.

"Regarding memory procurement for next fiscal year, based on discussions held so far with various suppliers, we have aligned on the quantity of memory needed for our projected hardware unit sales," it continued.