“No disc, no buy” protest and PlayStation boycott don’t bother Sony, which reports boosted playtime

Sony’s PlayStation engagement rose in the quarter ending 30 September, despite backlash and a fan-organised boycott over its plan to stop producing physical games from 2028. The figures suggest the protest has not caused a noticeable decline in platform use, though they do not show whether it affected game purchases.

PlayStation recorded 127 million monthly active users in September, up 7% year on year and a record for that month. Quarterly playtime increased 4% year on year; active users were also up by 2 million from the previous quarter and 8 million from a year earlier. Sony said engagement trends had improved, while a US analyst had earlier reported no significant boycott-related change in player numbers or engagement.