PlayStation has strongly invested in its games-as-a-service strategy, which has generally paid off, as evidenced by the recent growth of PlayStation Network.
Sony released its financial report this week, drawing attention to its reported 118 million monthly active users on PlayStation Network during the quarter from January 1 to March 31, 2024 (the last quarter of fiscal year 2023). This figure is lower than the previous quarter (123 million), but it's quite normal as it coincides with the end-of-year quarter. These are actually favorable results, representing a 9% increase compared to the same period of the previous year (January 1 to March 31, 2023, fiscal year 2022).
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Thus, the company reported user growth in every quarter of fiscal year 2023 compared to the respective quarters of the previous year.
Sony attributed this increase to "the growing penetration of PS5" as well as the "success of Helldivers 2 and third-party free-to-play titles". But above all, Helldivers 2 was key in this growth.
Helldivers 2 was crucial in the growth of PlayStation Network
The number of PlayStation Network users could have been even larger starting from June if the measure Sony wanted to implement with Helldivers 2 had taken effect, as it would have required PC players to link a PlayStation Network account, something that didn't happen in the end due to the tremendous discontent it caused among players.
However, there were PC users who, before it was announced as a mandatory requirement, had already linked their Steam account to a PlayStation Network account or those who didn't have a PSN account made one and linked it to Steam.
In case you missed it: Helldivers 2 made history for PlayStation.
We know this thanks to the CEO of Arrowhead Game Studios, Johan Pilestedt, who in early May, although not providing exact figures, stated that a "significant amount of Helldivers 2 players on PC had already linked their PSN account".
What do you think of the growth of PlayStation Network? Tell us in the comments or on Discord.
Helldivers 2 is available on PlayStation 5 and PC. You can find out more about it by visiting its page or checking our written review.
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