Yoshida Reveals 2019 Firing by Sony CEO Jim Ryan

Shuhei Yoshida, the longtime former executive at Sony Interactive Entertainment, revealed at the Alt Games festival in Australia over the weekend that he was fired from his role as president of SIE Worldwide Studios in 2019 by then-CEO Jim Ryan for refusing to follow certain directives.

Yoshida, who spent 31 years at Sony before departing in January 2025, led the studios division from 2008 to 2019. During his tenure, he oversaw the development of several flagship PlayStation titles, including God of War from Santa Monica Studio, the Uncharted and The Last of Us series from Naughty Dog, and Ghost of Tsushima from Sucker Punch Productions. "Ghost of Tsushima was one of the last games that I worked on as the president of Worldwide Studios," Yoshida said during his talk at the festival, which focused on indie game success. He then added, "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."

Yoshida did not elaborate on the specifics of Ryan's requests, which he described in a lighthearted tone that drew laughter...