The last Sony store in Russia is gone, this is what happens when you invade your neighbor

Sony has officially ended its business in Russia, formally closing its local office, Sony Mobile Communications Rus. This final move brings an end to the company’s 18-year presence in the Russian market, which started in 2006.

The complete exit is the result of a gradual withdrawal that began in 2022 after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which seems to be coming to peace talks. Sony’s exit went beyond just gaming, according to the Russian outlet that reported this. Sony Pictures Entertainment stopped releasing movies in Russia, and Sony Music shut down its operations in September 2022.

The music division’s international catalogs were taken off local streaming platforms, and its Russian branch was turned into an independent label. The company’s physical presence also started fading in 2024 when Sony began closing its branded stores. This was finished by mid-2024 due to a lack of product supply.

The financial hit to Sony’s Russian branch was severe. The company recorded a net loss of 1.43 billion rubles ($15.9 million) in 2022 and another loss of 530.2 million rubles ($5.9 million) in 2023. In 2024, the subsidiary made a small profit of 111.7 million rubles ($1.2 million), but this came only from warranty and administrative services since revenue had fallen by around 76% during that time. This is a big hit to Russia’s already struggling economy.

Russia just lost Sony entirely thanks to the Ukraine invasion

The choice to stop operations was shared soon after the invasion started in February 2022. By March 2022, Sony had already halted shipments of PlayStation consoles and blocked access to the PlayStation Store. To support those impacted by the war, the company also donated $2 million to help Ukrainians through the UN and Save the Children. For a while, Sony offered free PlayStation Plus subscriptions to Ukrainians, though this ended in late 2024.

Paperwork to shut down the business in Russia was filed with the Federal Tax Service on October 10, 2024. This came after an earlier, failed attempt to close the business in 2023 when the Japanese company’s request was denied. The final closure confirms Sony’s full departure from the country.

In its last years, the subsidiary mainly sold leftover stock and provided device repairs. Sony is among many Western companies that have left Russia since the full-scale invasion began, with a March 2025 report from a Russian consulting firm showing that about 62% of Western companies with major assets in Russia had exited, often by selling assets to local buyers or transferring them to domestic management. For now, Sony is no longer selling anything in Russia.