Sony Interactive Entertainment head of indies Shuhei Yoshida will leave the company on January 15, 2025 after 31 years, he announced.
“I’m leaving Sony Interactive Entertainment on January 15, 2025…,” Yoshida said in an Official PlayStation Podcast interview. “It’s like announcing the launch date of a new game, [something] I haven’t done for a long time [laughs].”
He continued, “I’ve been with PlayStation from the beginning, and this is my 31st year with PlayStation. And when I hit 30 years, I was thinking, hmm, it may be about time for me to move on. You know, the company’s been doing great. I love [PlayStation 5], I love the games that are coming out on this platform. And we have new generations of management who I respect and admire. And I’m so excited for the future of PlayStation. So you know, PlayStation is in really good hands. I thought, okay, this is my time.”
Yoshida joined Sony Interactive Entertainment, then Sony Computer Entertainment, when it was still just a department under PlayStation creator Ken Kutaragi.
“Ken’s team was doing the development, and there was another team under Sony Music Entertainment Japan making games for Super Nintendo, and that was another small team preparing to make games for PlayStation,” Yoshida said. “So the two teams merged, Ken’s team under Sony and Sato-san’s team under Sony Music Entertainment Japan, to create Sony Computer Entertainment in November 1993. When the company was established as a joint venture, we held a party and everybody was in one room at the hotel [laughs]. I remember we had about 80 people total. We were very small.”
Yoshida’s job was to talk to publishers and developers in Japan, making phone calls and visits in hopes that they would make games for PlayStation. Yoshida eventually became president of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios, today known as PlayStation Studios, before stepping down to lead Sony Interactive Entertainment’s indie games initiative.
“When I was managing [PlayStation Studios] working with big studios, making AAA games was great,” Yoshida said. “However, when I went to events like E3 or Gamescom, I always went to the indie game area. And I found games that I liked, and oftentimes the developer was there showcasing it. So I’d take a photo with the developer, trying to help promote these games.”
As for what the future holds, Yoshida said while he has no plans yet, he would like to stay in the industry, helping independent game developers.
“I have a couple of events to visit. The Game Awards are in December. I have commitments to the Taipei Game Show in January and DICE Summit in February, because I’m on the board… so that I’ll continue to do. But other than that, I have no plan. I enjoy my free time… I would like to continue to help indie developers or indie publishers if they need me. So I’ll probably continue to help these creative, talented indie teams in the future.”