PlayStation names its new CEOs! Update: Corporate Strategy Meeting scheduled for May 23rd!

Hermen Hulst and Hideaki Nishino will jointly succeed Jim Ryan as the CEOs of Sony Interactive Entertainment.

Hulst is CEO of the newly named Studio Business Group, which includes all of PlayStation’s first-party teams, plus covers the development of PlayStation IP onto other mediums, such as TV and film. Hulst was already head of PlayStation Studios. He was previously the co-founder of Horizon and Killzone developer Guerrilla Games, which was acquired by Sony in 2005.

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"I am thrilled to lead the studio business group and continue to build on our success with PlayStation 5, while preparing for the future,” Hulst said in a statement. “The video game industry is one of the largest entertainment industries in the world and has been built on the marriage of content and technology, and I look forward to continuing to push the boundaries of play and entertainment.”

Hideaki Nishino will lead the Platform Business Group, which includes console hardware, technology, accessories, PlayStation Network and third-party relations (covering major publishers and indie studios). He was already SVP of Platform Experiences. He’s been part of the Sony business since 2006, holding numerous roles at Sony Network Entertainment, Sony Corporation and SIE.

"We will continue to connect players and creators through world-class products, services, and technology," Nishino said. "We always strive to grow our community even bigger with innovation in every area at Sony Interactive Entertainment.”

"I am honored to be appointed such an important role alongside Hermen. By working more closely together, we will be positioned to build incredible experiences for an ever-expanding audience now and in the future."

Both leaders will report to Sony Interactive Entertainment chairman Hiroki Totoki, who has been acting CEO of the division since Jim Ryan stepped down from the role at the end of March. Totoki is also president, COO and CFO of Sony Group Corporation. The latest changes will take effect from June 1st.

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“Sony Interactive Entertainment is a dynamic and growing business that delivers incredible entertainment experiences through the connection of content and technology," Totoki said. "These two leaders will have clear responsibilities and will manage strategic direction to ensure the focus remains on deepening engagement with existing PlayStation users and expanding experiences to new audiences."

The fact both new CEOs are established PlayStation veterans is in-keeping with Sony’s approach of promoting from within. However, the decision to have two leaders is not something the business has done before and reflects the growing size and scale of the division.

That’s right, two CEOs! Thoughts, SW? Are you excited for the next chapter in PlayStation? Have no idea who Nishino is, will add more info when I get it. But Hermen Hulst has done great things (Guerilla Games - creators of Killzone and Horizon Zero Dawn). So I’m excited for that.

microsoft should take notes 😆

They wanted to but forgot they fired the notetaker

Dang, I didn't have two people replacing Jimbo on my bingo card.

Unless one of them is Kevin Butler then I don’t care.

Just what the world needs.... More ceo's. It's like being excited for wasps building a nest under your deck.

Hermen was obvious. Hopefully he green lights a new Killzone game. Otherwise, I don't care. Just get the games rolling.

Hopefully they can squeeze out a game this year.🤭

Yay?

Upgrade from the last parasite, but said parasite destroyed everything, and we're 2-3 years away from games, so its grim, real grim.

Twice the oversight means twice the fun.

@hardwenzen: that parasite gave you Demon’s Souls remake

Yoshida gave me the game, not that fat car salesman.

We'll see how this plays out.

Hulst has proven himself in the past to be a good leader steering Guerrilla Games from Killzone to Horizon with the Decima engine showing them its worth using for Horizon games as well as in Kojima's Death Stranding. (Having full support of Guerrilla Games along the way so good on this one)

Hulst has a good resume with PlayStation Studios for a good while now and we've gotten great 1st-party games as well as 3rd-party games under his belt. Hulst is a strong good choice over Jim Ryan.

You're right. More suits to satisfy is a bad idea.

Exactly. They're just execs. We expect them to do a good job, not to pretend to be our friends and constantly lie to us to gain cult status

So Sony are trying to cut gaming budgets but double ceo's pay packets, makes sense.

At least Hulst has a decent track record at the developer level. Hes not just a business guy. Nishino has been around since ‘06 which is also a good sign. But then again I haven’t liked the PlayStation brand since the PS2, so these PS3 era dudes aren’t gonna sway me in any way.

Let’s see where this goes I guess. It can’t get much worse…

I've never gotten the praise for Hulst. Killzone had some ok entries, and Horizon just sucks. Guerrilla is good at graphics and tech, but their games don't have 'it'.

I don't know who the other dude is.

This is quite a surprise. They named 2 CEOs instead of 1.

They are going to layout their plan for the inevitable day one pc launches.😊