Sony announces new PlayStation co-CEOs after Jim Ryan’s retirement

Sony’s PlayStation business will be run by co-CEOs Hermen Hulst and Hideaki Nishino starting June 1. This announcement comes months after PlayStation’s former CEO Jim Ryan confirmed his retirement in September 2023.
In a blog post, the Japanese gaming major has announced that Hermen Hulst, who currently serves as PlayStation studios chief, will be appointed as CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment’s (SIE) studio business group.
Meanwhile, Hideaki Nishino who has already been serving as the interim CEO of SIE will be appointed CEO of SIE’s platform business group. Nishino has served multiple roles for more than 20 years at Sony and was also in the team working to find a successor for the SIE’s CEO role. Also, both new CEOs will report to Sony CFO and SIE chairman Hiroki Totoki.

In PlayStation’s history, it's the first time Sony appointed co-CEOs to run its gaming business. Along with Sony, the entire gaming industry has gone through layoffs over the past year.
Earlier this year, Sony laid off 900 PlayStation employees and closed its London Studio in the UK that developed PlayStation VR games. In 2024, Microsoft also laid off 1,900 Activision and Xbox employees. Last week, in another round of layoffs, the company also shut down Bethesda Studios, which is behind games like Redfall and Hi-Fi Rush.

According to a report by the Verge, Sony is expected to announce its earnings soon. Last quarter, the company lowered its PS5 console sales forecasts for the 2023 fiscal year ending on March 31. During the earnings call, Sony may also announce its PlayStation PC plans.
In an earnings call earlier this year, SIE chairman Hiroki Totoki discussed the opportunity to grow PlayStation games on PC as well as other platforms.
Totoki said: “In the past, we wanted to popularize console... but there is a synergy to it. So if you have strong first-party content, not only with our console but also other platforms like computers, first-party can be grown with multi-platforms and that can help operating profit to improve.”