Sony’s head of independent development at PlayStation and long-time game development leader for the console maker, Shuhei Yoshida, is leaving the company after over three decades. He helped produce some of the PlayStation’s earliest hits before moving onto help lead the platform’s powerhouse first-party studios across multiple console generations.

Shuhei Yoshida, one of the key veterans behind the PlayStation brand, has announced his retirement from Sony after more than three decades with the company. Yoshida announced the news in a PlayStation blog/podcast on Tuesday. His exit will be effective on January 15, 2025.

PlayStation veteran Shuhei Yoshida is leaving the company after 31 years. As announced on the PlayStation Blog, the former SIE Worldwide Studios president will leave Sony early next year. "I’m leaving Sony Interactive Entertainment on January 15 2025,

In January 2025, Shuhei Yoshida will be leaving Sony after spending 31 years with the company. Yoshida started out speaking with developers and publishers to convince them to make games for the original PlayStation but he would rise to being the president of PlayStation Studios during the PS3 and PS4 eras.