PlayStation Appoints Joint CEOs Following Jim Ryan's Retirement

PlayStation's CEO position has been split into two roles to be shared by Hermen Hulst and Hideaki Nishino. The two will take over from Sony's chief operating officer Hiroki Totoki, who had been acting as the interim head during the hunt for a new CEO.

Hulst co-founded Dutch studio Guerrilla Games, developer of Horizon: Zero Dawn, which was bought by Sony back in 2005. Hulst later became the head of PlayStation Studios, overseeing the development of some of the companies first-party titles, including Spider-Man and God of War: Ragnarok. Nishino has lead the team which behind technology such as the PlayStation VR2 headset and the PlayStation Network service.

In a statement, Totoki said of the appointment: "These two leaders will have clear responsibilities and will manage strategic direction to ensure the focus remains on deepening engagement with existing PlayStation users and expanding experiences to new audiences.” 

As for how the role will be split, Hulst is said to be involved in how PlayStation adapts its properties into other forms of media, whereas Nishino will be looking after third-party publisher relations and the marketing of hardware. 

The two take over from Jim Ryan, who announced his retirement back in September 2023. Ryan, who had been with Sony since 1994 and had spent the past five years as CEO of PlayStation, left the company in March 2024. Hulst and Nishino's role of joint CEOs will come into effect on June 1, 2024.