Sega has acknowledged a growing disconnect between the critical reception and full-price sales of its major game releases. While the Japanese gaming giant is still investigating the issue, shareholder pressure prompted Sega management to already share some of its preliminary findings, identifying several possible factors behind the slower-than-expected starts of its recent titles.
Over the last four reporting periods, Sega Sammy's revenue has been declining, while profitability has gone from stable in FY2025 to clearly under pressure in FY2026, which runs through March 2026. For the six-month period ending September 2025, the company reported ¥201.1 billion (~$1.3 billion) in net sales, down 5% compared to the previous year, as well as a 69.3% annual decline in operating income, which fell to ¥10.1 billion (~$64.6 million). While the gentle revenue decline was largely attributed to a normalization in pachinko business earnings following an unsustainably high performance the previous year, the sharp drop in profitability has placed all aspects of the group under investor scrutiny.
Sega's recent leak of the company's sales data shows the harmful effects on sales of games releasing exclusively on PlayStation consoles.
Sega management fielded several questions about the company's ongoing challenges...
