Sony just released its PlayStation FY2024 financial summary, and the numbers are insane. Digital has been the way of the world, but its layman version has never been so sterilized. Make/Add-On Contents the prime source of revenue-29%; that is microtransactions and DLC, anything purchased post the base game. Next is the sale of hardware at 24%; digital software follows it at 20%; and, at a 3%; physical software exists – really, 3%?
So Make for Add-Ons? Per Genki’s tweet, that’s in-game currency, items, and expansion packs. So basically, any kind of purchase other than the purchase of the base game. That really hits home with games like Fortnite or Call of Duty, where players are forever buying skins and battle passes. It all really adds up and is seemingly enough to account for almost a third of PlayStation’s total revenue.
You’d expect varied responses to this. The user ⛓𝕬𝔍 🥀, for instance, expressed surprise that hardware sales made more revenue than digital software sales through PSN. That, if you think about it, is quite interesting-the PS5 has been buzzing in sales since its introduction, despite supply chain issues early on. So it does make sense that hardware is pulling in serious amounts of cash. Yet, surpassing digital software in that regard? That’s slightly unexpected.
This brings us to the classic battle of the century: physical versus digital. KhloyaZ quite plainly said, “And people still think the ps6 will support discs lmao”. And I guess it’s hard to argue against that when physical software only counts for 3% revenue-wise. A user called TMC wrote, “Dang physical game sales are gone.. assuming that’s what they mean.. I’ll buy physical as long as possible.” Same! That feeling of holding that disc in your hands just feels right. But here comes the sad truth: the numbers are lying and saying physical is on its way out.
Hold on; it isn’t as simple as it sounds. Genki clarifies that Physical Software includes only first-party games sold on disc, royalties from third-party disc sales, and revenue from bundled games. Digital Software includes on the other hand ALL first and third-party full games sold on PSN. So it’s not an apples-to-apples comparison for physical versus digital sales, and that 3% to 20% comparison is a little misleading. However, whatever way one looks at it, with or without context, physical sales will never be what they used to.
Another interesting thing raised by user fcbniine is that Sony takes 30% from every sale of any digital game on their store (and 100% take if it is a PS Studios game), whereas it only takes far less from physical sales. So unsurprisingly, digital revenues end up being greater. The business is just like that. KhloyaZ jumps in saying, “If true, that’s a dumb decision.” Well, is it, really? From a business standpoint, wouldn’t a person want to push the option that makes more money?
Network Services came to 14% which is probably PlayStation Plus subscriptions, and some supports “Other” at 10%, which includes SIE-published games and add-on contents outside of PS consoles, which could be like their PC releases for games, which they’ve been doing more of lately.
User ConflictedArt noted that the revenue from hardware is 2.5 times more than that from content they bring to other platforms, which raised many people’s eyebrows. Quite interesting as it puts on-display that even with their aggressive push into PC gaming, that console ends up being their biggest money-maker count right after Addon content.
Then the Microsoft angle. User DieTerPeTroy said, “Sony always use whole PSN Store income but 70% goes to other devs and this year I guess mostly to Microsoft 😅”. That hurts. But probably true since it must be huge for games like Call of Duty on PlayStation.
What does all that translate to for us gamers? Firstly, Add-On Content is here to stay and only getting bigger. These companies make bank off of it as far as they can keep pushing it. Physical games are trending lower and lower in revenue, so that might very well be a possibility for the next generation consoles to have a disc-less one. Hardware sales are still doing quite well to bring good news for the “consoles are dying” camp.
It’s also important to note that those numbers are PlayStation revenue-only, not profit. So while add-on content might be bringing the highest revenue, we don’t really know how much it costs them to develop and maintain that stuff. But still, 29 percent is a very big number and really emphasizes the future direction of the industry.
But whether it is a way of life to some and a nightmare for others, one thing’s for sure: right now it’s add-on content, with figures like this backing it up. It’s really not going to be challenged in the near future. So, sit back and enjoy more battleground passes, from microtransactions to DLC, as all of these will bring in the most money, and Sony knows this all too well.
