- Sony is set to receive a whopping $507 million payout from the US government over previously imposed illegal tariffs.
- The company already received 70% of the tariff refund, about $356 million, and most of it went into its games division.
- It will receive the remaining amount over time, but PS5 owners who bought consoles at inflated prices won’t see a penny of it.
The US government deemed the previously implemented tariffs imposed under the IEEPA illegal in February this year. It means import duties that were collected under that authority must be refunded. These refunds apply to importers like Sony, which paid duties on PlayStation hardware.
Therefore, the company confirmed it is set to receive a whopping 80 billion yen, or over half a billion dollars, payout in the process. A huge portion of this amount is going towards the conglomerate’s gaming division, PlayStation, as confirmed by CFO Lin Tao.
Why it matters: Sony is being compensated for the losses it incurred during the tariffs, but the company also faces backlash from PS5 owners who argue they should be rewarded for buying PS5 consoles at inflated prices.
Sony reported this tidbit in its Q1 FY2027 report, covering the April-June period. It expects to receive $507 million in customs duties previously paid by the entire group.
This large sum caused Sony’s operating profits to jump by 37%, a 54.1 billion yen YoY growth. Additionally, Sony revised operating income upward by 60 billion yen in its full-year forecast, about a 10% increase.
The Sony executives confirmed that the company has already received 70% of this refund from the government, about $356 million USD, while an estimated $152 million remains to be paid.
Regardless, this development has drawn widespread backlash against Sony for not compensating gamers who bought PS5 consoles at inflated prices during the tariff period.
They will see no benefit from the payout, so there’s already a class-action lawsuit against the conglomerate in progress. Sony is expected to respond to the lawsuit later this month.
Do you think PS5 owners should also be included in this payout since they suffered the impacts of tariffs, or is Sony the only eligible party in this dilemma? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, or join the discussion on the Tech4Gamers forum.
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Shameer Sarfaraz has previously worked for eXputer as a Senior News Writer for several years. Now with Tech4Gamers, he loves to devoutly keep up with the latest gaming and entertainment industries. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and years of experience reporting on games. Besides his passion for breaking news stories, Shahmeer loves spending his leisure time farming away in Stardew Valley. VGC, IGN, GameSpot, Game Rant, TheGamer, GamingBolt, The Verge, NME, Metro, Dot Esports, GameByte, Kotaku Australia, PC Gamer, and more have cited his articles.
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