PlayStation veteran Shuhei Yoshida has announced he will depart Sony on 15 January 2025, after a three-decade tenure. Yoshida first joined Sony Interactive Entertainment in 1993, and worked alongside Ken Kutanagi’s PlayStation team to aid third-party publishers in bringing games to the home console.
Over the years, Yoshida has taken a range of other roles, working with Sony Computer Entertainment America, SCE/SIE Worldwide Studios, and beyond. In these roles, he maintained a core excitement and enthusiasm about game publishing, aiding games to market, and raising awareness for smaller titles. In recent years, Yoshida has leaned more heavily into this aspiration, as the head of PlayStation Indies.
This role actually took him to GamesHub‘s native Australia several times. Yoshida remains a regular at Melbourne International Games Week (MIGW), and he’s been a keynote speaker for PAX Aus in the past. With each visit, Yoshida took care to elevate and celebrate Australian-made indies, which has been very appreciated by the local development scene.
No matter how smaller or big, Yoshida took great care with all games – and it was this devotion that so endeared him to PlayStation’s community. Not only has he worked as an advocate for fun, experimental games within PlayStation, he also frequently uses social media to elevate games that fascinate him.
Read: Shuhei Yoshida is now a PlayStation Stars collectible
Speaking on the PlayStation Podcast and to the PlayStation Blog, Yoshida reflected on his journey, and the future of PlayStation without him.
“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,” he said. “You know, the company’s been doing great. I love PS5, 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 leaves behind an incredible legacy at PlayStation. Based on his comments, he won’t retiring just yet, so we hope to see him pop up elsewhere in future, after a well-earned rest. As confirmed, Yoshida still has some obligations to come – he’ll appear at The Game Awards, the Taipei Game Show, and DICE Summit.
“Other than that, I have no plan,” Yoshida said. “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.”
