PlayStation leader Jim Ryan to retire after 28 years with Sony

Jim Ryan, CEO of PlayStation and CEO of Sony, will resign. In a press release on WednesdaySony announced that Ryan will retire in March 2024, while Sony Group Corporation President and Chief Operating Officer Hiroki Totoki will become Sony’s interim CEO effective April 1, 2024.

“After 30 years, I made the decision to retire from SIE in March 2024. I enjoyed the opportunity to have a job I love at a very special company, working with great people and incredible partners,” Ryan says in a statement. . “But I find it increasingly difficult to balance life in Europe and work in North America. I will leave having had the privilege of working on products that have impacted millions of lives around the world; PlayStation will always be a part of my life and I feel more optimistic than ever about the future of SIE.”

Ryan has worked at Sony for 28 years, beginning his career at the company’s European branch in 1994, where he held several leadership positions, including head of global sales and marketing. In 2019, Ryan replaced John Kodera as president and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment. Totoki will become president of Sony Interactive Entertainment in October 2023, prior to Ryan’s departure.

Ryan has been a persistent figure in the battle between Microsoft and the FTC over its plans to buy game publishing giant Activision Blizzard. Earlier this year, comments from Ryan surfaced claiming that the acquisition was not about console exclusivity, contradicting claims Sony made publicly that the deal could negatively impact Activision Blizzard games appearing on the consoles. PlayStation.

As interim CEO, Sony says Totoki “will work closely with Sony Group Corporation Chairman and CEO Kenichiro Yoshida and the SIE leadership team to help define the next chapter of PlayStation’s future, including the succession of the position of executive director of SIE”.