Hours After Jim Ryan Announced His Retirement, Fans Speculate on Who Will Be the Next Sony PlayStation CEO

After almost 30 years with Sony, Jim Ryan is stepping down from Sony Interactive Entertainment’s CEO role. This news has left the gaming community in shock. Many fans expected Ryan to take PlayStation to the next level, as he recently talked about the future plans of the company. PlayStation looks to break a 25-year-old record by aiming to sell 25 million PS5 units during FY2023. And should they meet this goal, Jim Ryan could go out with a bang! And either way, the man who has led PlayStation since the first console, will be leaving some lofty shoes to be filled. So who will be his worthy successor?

Netizens have started to discuss who will be the next Sony PlayStation CEO to continue Ryan’s legacy. But there is one person who is looking like a clear winner in the hearts of fans.

Potential replacements of Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO

Ryan recently announced his retirement from his role as the CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment. He will be stepping down in March 2024, with COO Hiroki Totoki acting as the interim CEO from April 2024. However, PlayStation fans have already started picking their next contender for CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment.

Currently, there are not many names in the running for the CEO role. However, the netizens believe Shuhei Yoshida, Shawn Layden, Jack Tretton, and Hermen Hulst are the top contenders. But out of these four, Layden and Tretton have already departed from Sony. It is highly unlikely they will return to join the race for the CEO position.

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On the other hand, Yoshida is currently the Head of the Independent Developer Initiative at SIE. He has earned a reputation in the gaming community with his work on many PlayStation titles. Hulst is working as the Head of PlayStation Studios currently. He founded Guerrilla Games (now a part of PlayStation) which gave fans the critically acclaimed Horizon and Killzone series. Out of these two, however, the netizens may have already picked their favorite.

PlayStation fans select their pick for the CEO role

While Yoshida is a veteran of the gaming community, the majority of the fans have come in support of Hulst. A fan shared how a new perspective on PlayStation’s approach might change the gaming world.

Another fan supported Hulst, even going on to claim he will be the next CEO.

But there were many voices in support of Yoshida too, claiming he has better knowledge of the industry.

A fan even wished for the return of Layden, sharing an interesting story about him.

Looking at the growing interest of netizens in this debate, a fan cheekily suggested Sony PlayStation to hold an election for the role.

Majority of the netizens have spoken in support of Hermen Hulst. However, there has been no official announcement about the role so far. What are your thoughts on who should be the next SIE CEO? Let us know in the comments section below.

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