Key Takeaways
- God of War Ragnarök is the highest-grossing PlayStation Studios game of the PS5 generation, generating an estimated $1.4 billion from 21.6 million copies sold across PlayStation and Steam.
- Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 follows closely with $1.3 billion in estimated revenue and 19.1 million copies sold.
- The top 10 PlayStation Studios games have collectively generated more than $6.5 billion across PlayStation, Steam, and Xbox.
- Helldivers 2 is the best-selling game in the ranking by units, with 23 million copies sold, despite placing fourth in revenue.
- Ghost of Yōtei has already generated $410.1 million from 5.5 million PS5 copies, making it one of the ranking’s more impressive recent releases.
God of War Ragnarök has officially become the biggest revenue generator among PlayStation Studios games released during the PS5 generation, according to new estimates from market research firm Alinea Analytics. Nearly four years after its original release, Kratos and Atreus’ Norse adventure has reportedly generated an impressive $1.4 billion in gross revenue, putting it ahead of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and several other major PlayStation releases.
The latest figures were published by Alinea Analytics analyst Rhys Elliott on November 6, 2026, as part of a breakdown examining the commercial performance of PlayStation’s biggest games during the current console generation. According to the report, Ragnarök has sold approximately 21.6 million copies across PlayStation platforms and PC, demonstrating that the game continues to attract buyers long after its initial launch.
What’s particularly interesting is that the game isn’t relying entirely on its original release window to generate revenue. Alinea estimates that Ragnarök sold another 1.1 million copies during 2026 alone, generating around $60 million despite already being available through PlayStation Plus Extra.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 isn’t far behind, with an estimated $1.3 billion in revenue and 19.1 million copies sold. The full ranking also includes several interesting surprises, including Helldivers 2, Stellar Blade, and the relatively recent Ghost of Yōtei.
God of War Ragnarök Has Sold 21.6 Million Copies and Generated $1.4 Billion
Originally released on November 9, 2022, God of War Ragnarök quickly became one of PlayStation’s biggest exclusives. The sequel continued Kratos and Atreus’ journey through Norse mythology, introducing players to new realms, powerful enemies, and the events leading toward Ragnarök.
According to Alinea Analytics, the game has now sold approximately 21.6 million copies across PlayStation and Steam. Around 20.1 million of those copies were sold through PlayStation platforms, while approximately 1.6 million came from its PC release.
The PlayStation breakdown is particularly interesting. Approximately 75.2% of its PlayStation sales came from PS5, with the remainder coming from PS4. This means the game has benefited from having a much larger potential audience than titles released exclusively for Sony’s current-generation console.
Physical editions have also played a notable role in its commercial success. Alinea estimates that approximately 27.5% of God of War Ragnarök’s PlayStation copies were sold physically, showing that a considerable number of players still prefer purchasing boxed versions of major single-player releases.
However, the game’s performance in 2026 might be even more impressive than its lifetime total. Alinea estimates that Ragnarök sold another 1.1 million copies this year, generating around $60 million in revenue. Approximately 68% of that year’s revenue came from PlayStation sales.
That performance is particularly notable because the game has been available through PlayStation Plus Extra for roughly two years. Alinea estimates that approximately 6.7 million PlayStation Plus players have accessed the game through the subscription service.
In other words, Ragnarök continues to sell millions of copies even after becoming available through Sony’s subscription catalogue. It is another example of how established PlayStation franchises can maintain commercial interest long after their original release.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Almost Matches God of War Ragnarök
Kratos might be sitting at the top of the revenue ranking, but Peter Parker and Miles Morales aren’t far behind. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 has reportedly generated approximately $1.3 billion in gross revenue, making it the second-highest-grossing game in Alinea’s PlayStation Studios ranking.
The Insomniac Games sequel has sold more than 19.1 million copies across PS5 and PC, putting it within striking distance of 20 million sales. More than $1.2 billion of its estimated revenue has come from PlayStation, while its Steam version has generated nearly $70 million.
Interestingly, Spider-Man 2 has received another major boost during 2026. According to Alinea, the game sold approximately 2.3 million copies this year, generating around $115.8 million in revenue.
One of the biggest reasons behind this renewed interest appears to be the release of Spider-Man: Brand New Day. The movie brought considerable attention back to Insomniac’s superhero adventure, helping the game sell approximately 578,000 copies in August 2026 alone.
That made August its strongest sales month since the first quarter of 2024. The increase is especially interesting because Spider-Man 2 had already been available for several years and was added to PlayStation Plus Extra in February 2026.
Alinea also noted that approximately 6.3 million players accessed Spider-Man 2 through PlayStation Plus after its addition to the subscription catalogue. Despite that, the game continued generating substantial premium sales.
The figures suggest that the popularity of the Spider-Man franchise continues to attract new players, particularly when a major movie release brings renewed attention to the character.
PlayStation Studios’ Top 10 Highest-Grossing Games of This Generation
Although God of War Ragnarök and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 take the first two positions, the rest of the ranking includes several other major PlayStation releases. Some are familiar first-party franchises, while others come from independent studios that partnered with PlayStation for publishing.
According to Alinea Analytics, these are the ten highest-grossing PlayStation Studios games of the PS5 generation, ranked by estimated revenue:
- 1. God of War Ragnarök – $1.4 billion: Santa Monica Studio’s Norse adventure leads the ranking with 21.6 million estimated copies sold across PlayStation and PC.
- 2. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 – $1.3 billion: Insomniac Games’ superhero sequel has sold more than 19.1 million copies across PS5 and Steam.
- 3. Gran Turismo 7 – $841.9 million: Polyphony Digital’s racing simulator has sold approximately 12.7 million copies, continuing to attract players through its long-term updates and extensive car collection.
- 4. Helldivers 2 – $786.3 million: Arrowhead Game Studios’ cooperative shooter has sold approximately 23 million copies across Steam, PS5, and Xbox.
- 5. Horizon Forbidden West – $485.8 million: Guerrilla Games’ open-world sequel has generated nearly half a billion dollars in estimated revenue.
- 6. Ghost of Yōtei – $410.1 million: Sucker Punch’s samurai adventure has sold around 5.5 million copies on PS5 despite having a considerably shorter time on the market.
- 7. The Last of Us Part I – $341.3 million: Naughty Dog’s remake has generated substantial revenue across PlayStation and PC, with approximately 6.4 million copies sold.
- 8. Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart – $334.9 million: Insomniac Games’ colorful platforming adventure has passed five million copies sold.
- 9. Stellar Blade – $316.9 million: Shift Up’s action game has generated more than $300 million through its PS5 and Steam releases, with approximately 5.4 million copies sold.
- 10. Astro Bot – $292.6 million: Team Asobi’s celebrated platformer rounds out the ranking with more than 4.7 million copies sold.
One important distinction is that this is a revenue ranking rather than a pure unit-sales leaderboard. For example, Helldivers 2 has sold approximately 23 million copies, making it the highest-selling game by units in this particular top 10. However, its estimated $786.3 million in revenue leaves it behind several more expensive single-player releases.
The ranking also isn’t limited strictly to games developed by studios owned by Sony. Helldivers 2 and Stellar Blade were created by external development teams but were included because of their publishing relationships with PlayStation.
Helldivers 2 and Stellar Blade Prove PlayStation’s Second-Party Strategy Can Work
One of the biggest surprises in Alinea’s ranking is the commercial performance of Helldivers 2. Developed by Arrowhead Game Studios, the cooperative shooter has become one of PlayStation’s most successful multiplayer releases, generating an estimated $786.3 million from approximately 23 million copies.
What’s particularly interesting is its platform distribution. Alinea estimates that 66.1% of Helldivers 2’s copies were sold through Steam, 25.7% through PS5, and 8.3% through Xbox. The small discrepancy above 100% comes from rounding.
The game’s long-term popularity also remains impressive. Alinea estimates that more than four million players have spent over 100 hours playing Helldivers 2, while approximately 462,000 have crossed the 500-hour mark.
Stellar Blade offers another interesting example. Developed by South Korean studio Shift Up, the action game has generated approximately $316.9 million and sold around 5.4 million copies.
Despite launching on PC roughly a year after its PS5 release, its sales have remained remarkably balanced between the two platforms. Alinea estimates that 50.4% of its copies were sold on PlayStation, while 49.6% came from Steam.
However, revenue is distributed differently. PlayStation accounts for approximately 59.7% of Stellar Blade’s revenue, while Steam contributes 40.3%. Alinea attributes part of this difference to regional pricing, particularly in China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.
Both games demonstrate how Sony’s publishing partnerships can produce successful releases without requiring every development team to belong directly to PlayStation Studios.
Ghost of Yōtei’s $410 Million Revenue Is Particularly Impressive
Another interesting entry is Ghost of Yōtei, which has already generated approximately $410.1 million in revenue from 5.5 million copies sold on PS5.
Developed by Sucker Punch Productions, the samurai adventure follows Atsu as she explores the northern regions of Japan while pursuing those responsible for destroying her family. It builds on several ideas introduced in Ghost of Tsushima while creating an entirely new setting and storyline.
What makes its position in the ranking particularly impressive is that it has had much less time to accumulate sales than several other entries. Unlike games such as God of War Ragnarök and Horizon Forbidden West, Ghost of Yōtei has not received a PC port to expand its audience.
Alinea also noted that a recent content update helped bring players back to the game. The performance suggests that PlayStation’s newer single-player releases can still generate substantial revenue without immediately relying on multiplatform availability.
However, commercial success hasn’t prevented problems for its development team. Sucker Punch reportedly experienced layoffs despite the game’s strong performance, another example of the disconnect between a successful release and employment stability in the gaming industry.
PlayStation Studios Games Have Generated More Than $6.5 Billion
Looking beyond the individual titles, the combined performance of the ten games is arguably the most impressive part of Alinea’s report.
According to the analyst’s estimates, these releases have generated more than $6.5 billion in gross revenue across PlayStation, Steam, and Xbox.
The platform distribution is also revealing:
- PlayStation: 84.7% of combined revenue.
- Steam: 14.1% of combined revenue.
- Xbox: 1.2% of combined revenue, entirely through Helldivers 2.
PlayStation remains responsible for the overwhelming majority of revenue, but the PC market has clearly become an important additional source of income for several major releases.
The figures also highlight how much value Sony’s established franchises continue to generate. God of War, Spider-Man, Gran Turismo, and Horizon have maintained commercial relevance across multiple years, while newer titles such as Ghost of Yōtei and Astro Bot have already found substantial audiences.
However, these estimates represent gross revenue rather than profit. They do not provide a complete breakdown of development budgets, marketing expenses, platform fees, royalties, or other costs associated with publishing each game.
Alinea Analytics Raises Questions About PlayStation’s Future of Physical Games
There is another interesting part of the report that goes beyond individual game sales. Even the five titles occupying the bottom half of the ranking generated a combined $281.7 million in catalogue revenue during 2026.
These are games that have already been available for considerably different amounts of time, yet they continue bringing in money through discounts, digital purchases, and ongoing demand from players.
Alinea’s Rhys Elliott believes that this commercial performance helps explain why PlayStation is increasingly interested in moving towards digital distribution.
According to Elliott, digital purchases provide better margins for PlayStation and publishers while also giving them more control over pricing and distribution. Unlike physical copies, digital purchases cannot be resold through the traditional second-hand market, allowing publishers to retain greater control over their catalogue.
However, physical releases remain important to a significant part of the gaming audience. Alinea’s estimate that 27.5% of Ragnarök’s PlayStation sales were physical demonstrates that boxed editions can still account for a meaningful portion of a major single-player game’s commercial performance.
The discussion is becoming particularly relevant as Sony reportedly prepares to move away from traditional disc-based PlayStation releases in the coming years.
For more on that discussion, read our coverage of the changing future of physical game editions.
God of War Ragnarök’s Success Sets a High Bar for Future PlayStation Games
The latest Alinea Analytics report demonstrates that PlayStation’s biggest releases can continue generating significant revenue long after their original launch windows. God of War Ragnarök has maintained its position at the top despite being available through PlayStation Plus, while Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 has received another boost from renewed interest in the superhero franchise.
For Santa Monica Studio, the figures also provide an encouraging sign ahead of the next major God of War project. The upcoming God of War: Laufey, which shifts the spotlight towards Kratos’ late wife Faye, has reportedly been delayed until May 20, 2027.
With Ragnarök still selling more than a million copies annually, expectations for the franchise’s next major installment will naturally be substantial.
Meanwhile, the remaining entries in the ranking show that PlayStation’s biggest commercial successes aren’t limited to traditional single-player exclusives. Helldivers 2 and Stellar Blade demonstrate the value of external development partnerships, while Ghost of Yōtei and Astro Bot highlight the continued demand for new PlayStation experiences.
Ultimately, God of War Ragnarök’s estimated $1.4 billion revenue is a remarkable achievement for a game that launched four years ago. With Spider-Man 2 also approaching the 20-million-copy milestone, PlayStation has two major evergreen hits that continue contributing to its business well beyond their original release windows.
