Sony has named co-CEOs Hermen Hulst and Hideaki Nishino to lead its PlayStation division starting June 1st. Hermen Hulst, currently the head of PlayStation Studios, will become CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment’s (SIE) studio business group. Hideaki Nishino will take on the role of CEO for SIE’s platform business group. Both will report to Sony CFO and SIE chairman Hiroki Totoki.
This dual leadership approach follows the recent retirement of former PlayStation head Jim Ryan. Totoki, who served as interim CEO, oversaw the search for Ryan’s successor before Sony decided to split the leadership responsibilities between Hulst and Nishino. Both executives are seasoned veterans at Sony, with Nishino bringing over 20 years of experience in various roles.
The appointment of co-CEOs is a first for Sony’s PlayStation business and occurs during a challenging period for the gaming industry, marked by significant layoffs. Sony laid off 900 PlayStation employees and closed its London Studio earlier this year. Microsoft also made substantial cuts, laying off 1,900 Activision and Xbox employees and shutting down the Bethesda studios behind Redfall and Hi-Fi Rush.
Sony’s announcement comes just before it reports its latest earnings. The company recently lowered its PS5 sales forecasts, making the upcoming sales figures for the fiscal year ending March 31st highly anticipated. Additionally, there may be updates on Sony’s ambitious PlayStation PC plans.
During a previous earnings call, SIE chairman Hiroki Totoki highlighted the potential for growth in PlayStation games on PC and other platforms. “In the past, we wanted to popularize the console… but there is a synergy to it,” Totoki said. “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.”
