Hermen Hulst No Longer PlayStation Co-CEO, Still in Charge of First-Party 1
Image: Push Square

A dramatic shake up of the Sony hierarchy has seen PlayStation ditch its dual CEO approach less than a year after it was introduced.

Ex-Guerrilla Games managing director Hermen Hulst was appointed co-CEO alongside Platform Business Group bigwig Hideaki Nishino following the departure of Jim Ryan. The pair’s tenure officially started on 1st June, 2024.

But the run is over, as Nishino will now take sole CEO control of Sony Interactive Entertainment, the Sony business subsidiary which contains PlayStation.

“I am truly honored to take the helm at Sony Interactive Entertainment,” Nishino said in a press release. “Technology and creativity are two of our biggest strengths as we continue to focus on developing experiences that deliver entertainment for everyone. We will continue to grow the PlayStation community in new ways, such as [intellectual property] expansion, while also delivering the best in technology innovation.

“I want to thank Hermen for his expertise and leadership as he continues his role as CEO, Studio Business Group. I am deeply grateful for the PlayStation community and their continued support and I am very excited for what the future holds.”

As mentioned above, Hulst will continue to lead PlayStation’s first-party, so this reorganisation doesn’t change an enormous amount for the day-to-day running of the organisation.

It does suggest, however, that the dual CEO setup wasn’t working as effectively as Sony management would have liked.

Back in October, both Hulst and Nishino attempted to explain their roles to Variety.

“This is not co-CEOs; it’s two CEOs for the company,” Nishino confusingly explained. “Hermen runs his thing, I run my thing, and then we get together to talk about how to grow the business. Growing the business for success has a conflict as well: how we impact each other or how we want to sacrifice or not. It’s a balance. It’s an opportunity and a risk.”

That risk is now gone, however, as while Hulst and Nishino will continue to work closely, it’s the latter who will have the final say.

As part of the change, Sony Group Corporation president, chief operating officer, and chief financial officer Hiroki Totoki will step down from his position as Sony Interactive Entertainment chairman to become CEO of Sony Group Corporation, succeeding CEO Kenichiro Yoshida, who will remain as director, representative corporate executive officer, and chairman.

“It has been a pleasure working more closely with Hermen and Nishino and gaining insight into the ever-changing, fast-paced world of Sony Interactive Entertainment,” Totoki said.

“As we hand the baton to Nishino and this exceptional leadership team, I am confident that [Sony Interactive Entertainment] will reach new heights in the days ahead. After 30 years of delivering exceptional entertainment worldwide, this marks an exciting new chapter for [Sony Interactive Entertainment], highlighting its commitment to fostering creativity and building meaningful connections for millions of players.”

Lin Tao, currently a finance executive at Sony Interactive Entertainment, will step into the role of Chief Financial Officer at Sony Group Corporation. Her replacement is yet to be announced.

All of these changes will be effective from 1st April, 2025.

Why Is Sony Interactive Entertainment Changing Its Dual CEO Approach?

While this seems like a seismic change to PlayStation’s hierarchy, the reality is that both Hulst and Nishino have talked about spending up to 80% of their time focused on their respective roles.

For Nishino, that’s the Platform Business Group, which oversees hardware, accessories, PSN, and third-party relations.

For Hulst, that’s the Studio Business Group, which includes first-party games and other internal initiatives like PS Productions.

Under this new structure, neither executive’s roles and responsibilities will change. The big alteration is that Totoki is moving up in the chain, to CEO of Sony Group Corporation. This means he’ll no longer be involved in the day-to-day running of Sony Interactive Entertainment.

It’s likely, then, that Nishino will take on some of Totoki’s responsibilities, while Hulst continues to focus all of his attention on first-party games.

What Does This New Leadership Mean for PlayStation?

For the average consumer, it’s business as usual. While the hierarchy has been tweaked, Hulst is still very much focused on first-party, while Nishino continues to oversee other areas of the business. Even though they’re no longer co-CEOs, they will still have an extremely close working relationship.

It’s not been the best period for PlayStation’s first-party of late, with the failure of Concord and the subsequent cancellation of numerous live service projects dominating headlines.

Perhaps it’s advantageous, then, for Hulst not to be distracted by other management tasks, so he can focus solely on shepherding Sony’s suite of internally owned studios back to making great games.

It should be underlined, however, that last year’s Astro Bot was a Game of the Year winner, while Helldivers 2 became Sony’s fastest-ever selling game. This year will see the release of Ghost of Yotei and Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, alongside updates to anticipated titles like Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet and Marvel’s Wolverine.

[source sony.com]