Playstation chief Jim Ryan is leaving Sony and retiring. Who will take over the position?
After nearly 30-plus years with Sony, current CEO and Playstation’s presiding president Jim Ryan is set to retire from Sony Interactive Entertainment.
Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier first broke the news on X (formerly Twitter), citing two sources. Christopher Dring of GamesIndustry.biz confirmed the news and provided further details.
BREAKING: PlayStation boss Jim Ryan is stepping down, two sources tell Bloomberg News.
– Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) September 27, 2023
Who will be the successor?
The position of president and CEO will most likely be filled by Hiroki Totoki, who is currently the company’s vice president, CFO and COO, after Ryan’s departure, in March 2024.
Jim Ryan thanks the PlayStation community as he announces his plans to retire from Sony Interactive Entertainment in March 2024: https://t.co/FFarEpedBh
– PlayStation (@PlayStation) September 27, 2023
Later, both Sony and Jim Ryan confirmed the news in various statements. Sony thanked Ryan for his service as CEO, highlighting in particular the successful release of the PS5 amid the pandemic as an achievement of their “inspirational leader. “
This is what the CEO thinks
Ryan, while expressing his difficulty in finding a balance between his personal life in the United Kingdom and at the same time his work in the United States, mentioned that he would continue in his role until the end of March.
In recent years, the CEO has been trying hard to prevent Microsoft from acquiring major game publisher Activision Blizzard. However, Sony and Microsoft came to an agreement to keep Call of Duty on Playstation. Meanwhile, Microsoft is close to finalizing its purchase of Activision Blizzard.