Tag: Hermen Hulst
News PlayStation's Dual CEO Setup Has 'Opportunities and Risks'
"It's a balance"
Sony took the bold decision of replacing ex-CEO Jim Ryan with two executives. Hermen Hulst is in charge of PS Studios and first-party software, while Hideaki Nishino runs the hardware business. It’s an ambitious structure, and one that could easily lead to conflict: after all, you could argue a way to grow PS Studios is to release...
News After a Tough Few Months, Sony Says It'll Keep Making PS5 Live Service Games
Searching for ways to evolve revenue streams
In a devastating statement issued today, Sony announced the closure of two studios it acquired under co-CEO Hermen Hulst’s tenure – but it’s not deterred it from chasing the live service gravy train. The
News Sony Shuts PS Studio Neon Koi without Ever Releasing a Game
Swimming with the fishes
In addition to shutting down Concord developer Firewalk Studios, the Japanese giant has also closed German developer Neon Koi. This lesser known team was originally purchased as Savage Game Studios in 2022, with the intention of making mobile games.
News PS5, PC Flop Concord Never Returning, Studio Closed Down
Crash landing
In a devastating PS Studios update, bigwig Hermen Hulst has confirmed that following a period of consultation, PS5 and PC gigaflop Concord will never be returning and developer Firewalk Studios has been closed down. According to Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, around 172 people will lose their jobs, although Sony does say it’s trying...
News Sony: It's Massively Important PS Studios Develops Games in Various Genres
The spice of life
There’s been much ado about PlayStation first-party lately, especially when you contrast the critically acclaimed release of Astro Bot against Concord’s premature closure. Speaking as part of an interview published on the PlayStation Podcast and
News Hermen Hulst, Hideaki Nishino Replace Jim Ryan As PlayStation CEOs
Tag-team time
As the ol’ Spice Girls song goes: two become one. PlayStation has decided to replace Jim Ryan with two executives: Hermen Hulst, the former Guerrilla managing director and current PS Studios chief, will lead a newly named Studio Business Group unit, which will oversee all of the Japanese giant’s first-party studios, as well as its...
News PS Studios Bigwig Pops Up at Kojima Productions Ahead of Rumoured Death Stranding 2 Re-Reveal
A crucial encounter?
Hermen Hulst, the exec currently in charge of Sony’s network of PS Studios, spent his week in Tokyo – and visited veteran developer Hideo Kojima while he was there. A photograph of the auteur standing side-by-side with the ex-Guerrilla managing director in Kojima Productions’ now infamous office corridor was shared on...
Gallery PlayStation Studios Boss Hermen Hulst's X Avatars Are Just the Best
A man of many faces
It's no secret that PlayStation's top dogs aren't particularly active on social media. If you follow the likes of Hermen Hulst, Mark Cerny, and other higher-ups, you won't spot a whole lot of posts from them, in general. Shuhei Yoshida is the exception to the rule, but Jim Ryan, soon-to-be ex-CEO of the company, doesn't seem to...
News PlayStation's Jim Ryan Named Among 500 Most Influential Global Media Business Leaders
PS Studios boss Hermen Hulst also honoured
Jim Ryan, the CEO of PlayStation, has been named by Variety as one of the top 500 “most influential business leaders shaping the global media industry”. The British born executive – who also featured in the 2020 and 2021 incarnations of the same list – is credited for completing the acquisition of...
News The Last of Us Was 'Ahead of Its Time', Sony Wanted 'Definitive Version'
HBO show wasn't the main reason for remake
For a lot of PlayStation fans, the release of The Last of Us: Part I perplexed them. The game – less than a decade old, and already remastered for the PS4 – was treated to a magnificent remake by Naughty Dog, much to the bemusement of sceptics. Now there’s speculation that Sony will also remake Ho
News Guerrilla's Delectable Decima Engine Being Used in Several PS5 Projects
Sony eager to share technology
Dutch developer Guerrilla Games’ delectable Decima Engine is being leveraged by “several studios”, according to PS Studios bigwig Hermen Hulst. The Amsterdam-based outfit famously handed Hideo Kojima the source code to its tech, which was later used to create Death Stranding – and according to leaked documents,...
News PS5 Exclusives Will Take at Least One Year to Launch on PC
Live service games will likely be day-and-date
Sony won’t shut up about PC and smartphones, and PS Studios boss Hermen Hulst has been discussing its release strategy moving forwards. Specifically, he mentioned that there’ll be “at least a year” between its single player titles launching on PS5 and PC, but in some cases its live service...
News PlayStation Bigwigs Won't Shut Up About PC, Smartphones
Won't somebody please think of the PS5?
It’s rare we get an interview from any of PlayStation’s top brass anymore, so we’re always eager to dig through the comments whenever the likes of group president Jim Ryan open their mouth. Unfortunately, it feels like the PS5 has become a forgotten format of late, as all the executives want to talk...
News Sony Will Continue to Make PS4 Games Moving Forwards
"We don't want to forget millions of active players"
Sony will not abandon the PS4, and it’s considering content for the last-gen console on a case-by-case basis. Outside of the upcoming God of War Ragnarok – which will release on both PS5 and PS4 – the manufacturer is being unprecedentedly secretive about its upcoming slate of first-party...
Random Hideo Kojima Uses a Hermen Hulst Mousepad
PlayStation Studios boss always on director's mind
In headlines we didn’t expect to ever type, Hideo Kojima has shared a photo of his office desk, which includes a Hermen Hulst mousepad. The PlayStation Studios boss famously handed the esteemed Metal Gear Solid director the source code to the Decima Engine when he worked as managing director of...
News Sony Has More Than 25 PS5 Exclusives in Development, And Almost Half Are New IP
"Big, small, different genres"
PlayStation Studios, the group which houses renowned Sony developers like Naughty Dog and Insomniac Games, has “more than 25 titles in development for the PS5” – and “nearly half of which are entirely new [intellectual property]”. That’s according to a Wired post-mortem, which features anecdotes from key...
News Sony Worldwide Studios Boss Shares His Philosophy on Game Development
"Our challenge is to be meaningful"
It’s no longer Shuhei Yoshida you need to beg for Bloodborne 2, because the role of Worldwide Studios president has been handed to ex-Guerrilla Games managing director Hermen Hulst. The Dutchman hasn’t been in the role long, and so we’re hearing from him for the first time as part of a feature on...
News Hermen Hulst of Guerrilla Games Becomes Head of PlayStation's Worldwide Studios
Shuhei Yoshida to take on smaller role
News of more change to PlayStation's top brass comes today, as we learn that Hermen Hulst has been promoted to head of Worldwide Studios. This follows on from the departure of Shawn Layden, who unceremoniously left the company just over a month ago. Hulst was previously managing director of Guerrilla Games, but...
News Watch As Two of PlayStation's Most Prominent Names Chat Candidly
Neil Druckmann and Hermen Hulst get together
This is actually a brilliant little video: Sony put Guerrilla Games' managing director Hermen Hulst and Naughty Dog's creative director Neil Druckmann in an up-market coffee shop and filmed them chatting for 25 minutes. The conversation mostly centres around Horizon: Zero Dawn, but it does deviate to...
