Sony Ends All Operations In Russia

Sony, the mass media mega-giant company that produces the PlayStation consoles has announced that it is cutting ties with Russia entirely, no longer providing any of its services to the country after liquidating its mobile subsidiary Sony Mobile Communications Rus. This marks the end of an 18-year long operation in the company by Sony.

Ever since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Sony-Russia train has slowly been grinding to a halt. On March 2nd 2022, Sony released a statement that it had donated 2 million USD to humanitarian aid efforts in Ukraine. On Between March 4th and March 9th of 2022, Sony and Microsoft announced that it would no longer be servicing its products in Russia following the Ukraine invasion, and Nintendo of Europe announced that it had delayed the Advanced Wars 1 + 2 Re-Boot Camp title and halted product shipments to the country. On March 10th 2022, Sony Music announced that it was suspending operations in Russia entirely. The Nintendo of Europe website also announced on May 31st 2023 that the Nintendo e-shop would be suspended in Russia indefinitely.

UNITED 24 MEDIA, a media branch of UNITED 24, a Ukranian fundraising platform established to raise money during the Russia-Ukraine conflict said the following:

Quote From Ivan Khomenko

Sony has formally ended its presence in Russia, dissolving its local subsidiary, Sony Mobile Communications Rus, on August 11, according to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities.

The Japanese technology company had operated in Russia since 2006, marking an 18-year presence. Liquidation documents were submitted to the Federal Tax Service in October 2024, following an earlier unsuccessful attempt to close the business in 2023. In its final years, the subsidiary primarily sold remaining stock and provided device servicing.

Sony announced its decision to exit Russia shortly after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, joining other companies in supporting international sanctions.

In March 2022, the corporation halted console shipments, suspended PlayStation Store operations, and donated $2 million to assist Ukrainians affected by the war through the UN and Save the Children.

Sony Pictures Entertainment also stopped releasing films in Russia, while Sony Music ceased operations in September 2022, removing foreign catalogs from local streaming services and spinning off its Russian division into an independent label.

In 2024, the company began closing its branded stores in Russia, completing the process by summer due to the lack of product supply.

Financial results reflected the decline: a net loss of 1.43 billion rubles ($15.9 million) in 2022 and 530.2 million rubles ($5.9 million) in 2023, followed by a modest profit of 111.7 million rubles ($1.2 million) in 2024, generated solely from warranty and administrative services. Revenue dropped by approximately 76% over the period.

Earlier, a March 25 report by Russian consulting firm Kept found that about 62% of Western companies with significant assets in Russia had exited since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with most transferring assets to domestic buyers or local management.

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