PlayStation CEO and president Jim Ryan will retire at the end of this year, the company has announced.
He will be succeeded on an interim basis by Sony Group Corporation President, COO and CFO Hiroki Totoki. Totoki will assume the role of SIE chairman from next month.
Ryan is a 30-year veteran of PlayStation. He joined the company in 1994 ahead of the release of the first PlayStation, and has since held senior roles launching PS2, PS3, PS4 and PS5, alongside the handheld PSP and PS Vita consoles.
He was named the president and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe in 2011, and then took a global role as head of sales and marketing for the entire business in 2016. After a successful stint as deputy president of Sony Interactive Entertainent, he was named the full CEO and president of the PlayStation division in 2019.
“After 30 years, I have made the decision to retire from SIE in March 2024,” Ryan said in a statement. “I’ve relished the opportunity to have a job I love in a very special company, working with great people and incredible partners. But I’ve found it increasingly difficult to reconcile living in Europe and working in North America.
“I will leave having been privileged to work on products that have touched millions of lives across the world; PlayStation will always be part of my life, and I feel more optimistic than ever about the future of SIE. I want to thank Yoshida-san for placing so much trust in me and being an incredibly sensitive and supportive leader.”
Sony Group Corporation Chairman and CEO Kenichiro Yoshida added: “Jim Ryan has been an inspirational leader throughout his entire period with us, but never more so than in overseeing the launch of PlayStation 5 in the midst of the global COVID pandemic. That extraordinary achievement made by the entire SIE team has been steadily built on and PlayStation 5 is on track to become SIE’s most successful console yet.
“I’m immensely grateful to Jim for all his achievements. Respecting Jim’s decision to finish his long career at Sony leaves me with an important decision regarding his succession given the significance of the Game & Network Services business. We have discussed intensively and have determined the new management structure. We aim to achieve Sony Group’s further evolution and growth through bringing even greater success to the Game & Network Services Business.”
