PlayStation veteran Shuhei Yoshida will leave the company after 31 years

The head of the indie division of Sony Interactive Entertainment, Shuhei Yoshida, who previously served as head of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios (now PlayStation Studios), announced his decision to leave the company.

Image source: Getty Images (Mark Ralston)

Yoshida joined Sony in 1986 and received his first position at PlayStation (lead account manager) in 1993, when the company was preparing to release its first console, the original PlayStation.

In 2000, Yoshida became vice president of SCE America, then senior vice president of SCE Worldwide Studios USA, and from 2008 to 2019 he was president of SCE Worldwide Studios. He has been leading the PlayStation Indies initiative for the past five years.

Most people will probably remember Yoshida in this short video from the PS4 launch.

Yoshida stated that he loved helping indie developers even as president of Worldwide Studios, and when it became his main responsibility, it felt “like a dream job.”

According to Yoshida, he has been with PlayStation “from the very beginning” and is considering leaving during his 30th year with the corporation: “I am so excited about the future of PlayStation. The company is in very good hands. And I thought, okay, this is my way out.”

Yoshida has dedicated the last 31 years to PlayStation (Image source: PlayStation Blog)

Yoshida will leave Sony Interactive Entertainment on January 15, 2025. He does not intend to retire, but he does not yet have a clear plan for further actions in the gaming industry.

«I would like to continue helping independent developers or publishers if they need me. So I’ll probably continue to help these creative, talented indie teams in the future,” said Yoshida.