Shuhei Yoshida is among the most recognizable figures in the video games industry. Having been at Sony for decades, working as a producer on many beloved PlayStation games like Gran Turismo, Ape Escape, and The Legend of Dragoon, Yoshida-san eventually became the head of PlayStation Studios in 2008, stepping down in 2019 to Hermen Hulst (now one of the two SIE CEOs). However, this transition was rocky, as Yoshida-san confirmed during the 2026 edition of Australian games festival ALT: GAMES to have been fired from the role because he didn’t listen to then CEO Jim Ryan.
As reported by This Week in Video Games, Yoshida-san didn’t mince words on the matter, although his recount was at times playful. “I helped Santa Monica to make God of War, Naughty Dog to make Uncharted and The Last of Us, and Sucker Punch to make the beautiful Ghost of Tsushima. Ghost of Tsushima was one of the last games that I worked on as the president of Worldwide Studios,” Yoshida-san said.
“But in 2019, after 11 years leading the first-party development, I was fired from the role. Jim Ryan wanted to remove me from first-party because I didn’t listen to him. He asked to do some ridiculous things, and I said ‘No’. Because I grew up with Jim from the PS1 days… you don’t want to have one of your friends as one of your subordinates,” the former PlayStation exec concluded.
After being fired as head of PlayStation Studios, Shuhei Yoshida didn’t leave Sony Interactive Entertainment, as he remained with the company to improve PlayStation‘s support for indie development, a role he continued until he left the company in January 2025 after 31 years.
Looking at how Jim Ryan and Hermen Hulst spearheaded the PlayStation live service push, which led to the release of one of the most unsuccessful titles ever by the company – Concord -, it would be interesting to learn if some of the ridiculous things Shuhei Yoshida refused to do were to spearhead this push, although he previously did say that studios are not forced to work on such games, at least under Hulst’s leadership
With so many studios closed and developers laid off in the past few years, including the beloved Bluepoint Games, the developer of the Demon’s Souls remake, who also pitched a Bloodborne remake after the cancellation of a God of War live service game, there’s no denying that this live service focus requires a massive rethink as Sony prepares for the next generation of consoles with its PlayStation 6 system.
About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack.
After joining Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his video gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi “Suda51” Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA’s president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3.
When he’s not reporting or reviewing, Francesco can be found playing the genres he loves most, spending time with his six cats, reading, writing music, playing guitar and drumming for his progressive rock band.
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