Shuhei Yoshida announced that he will be leaving Sony and no longer be part of the PlayStation brand in 2025. He will be stepping down from his role as Head of Independent Developer Initiative after 31 years at the company.
Shuhei Yoshida has a career that spans the entire lifetime of the PlayStation brand. He joined Sony in 1993 during the development of the original PlayStation, where he worked to secure third-party partnerships for the console. He would soon become an executive producer on many major titles for Sony, including Gran Turismo and Ape Escape.
This experience would lead to him becoming Vice President of SCE America in 2000 and President of SCE Worldwide Studios in 2009, where he would oversee all first-party development. He stayed in this role until 2019 where he took on a new role in supporting external developers. Shuhei Yoshida first considered leaving Sony when he reached his 30-year anniversary, and now feels it’s time to move on.
In his departure announcement, he discussed some of his favorite aspects of working at PlayStation. One of his favorite memories was seeing the impact that Journey had on players. He also expressed love on working with indie developers because of how their small scale allows unique and interesting ideas to thrive.
Yoshida has been a popular presence around PlayStation for much of his career. His cheerful presence at conferences and his openness with fans online made him a friendly, human face for Sony. In 2023, he won the BAFTA Fellowship award for his contributions to the games industry.
Shuhei Yoshida will be leaving PlayStation on January 15, 2025 after 31 years with the company.
Published: Nov 27, 2024 11:30 am