Sony's PlayStation division will once again have a single CEO

Sony is once again shaking up its leadership ranks. Effective April 1, Hideaki Nishino will be president and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE). Nishino was appointed CEO of the division's Platform Business Group last year. He ran SIE in partnership with Hermen Hulst, who will remain in his role as the head of PlayStation's studios but now report to Nishino. The pair replaced former SIE CEO Jim Ryan.

"I am truly honored to take the helm at Sony Interactive Entertainment," Nishino said in a statement. "Technology and creativity are two of our biggest strengths as we continue to focus on developing experiences that deliver entertainment for everyone. We will continue to grow the PlayStation community in new ways, such as IP expansion, while also delivering the best in technology innovation."

Hulst, meanwhile, will continue to oversee Sony's first-party games. He's also responsible for helping adapt the company's video game franchises into other mediums via PlayStation Productions.

The pair have had a tumultuous first year in charge of SIE. Just before they took the reins, Ryan announced that the division was laying off 900 staff and shutting down London Studio.

Since then, Nishino and Hulst have been dealing with the fallout of Ryan's deeply misguided efforts to focus on live-service games. After the disastrous debut of Concord — a hero shooter that vanished within just two weeks, never to return — Sony shut down the game's developer Firewalk Studios, as well as Neon Koi. A subsequent review of Sony's live-service efforts led to the company canning two other projects that were in development at Bluepoint and Bend Studio, with the former said to be a God of War title.

Elsewhere within the company, SIE Chairman Hiroki Totoki is giving up that post to become the new CEO of Sony. He'll succeed Kenichiro Yoshida, who will remain the company's chairman. Totoki is also the current president, chief operating officer and chief financial officer of Sony. Replacing him as CFO is Lin Tao, a senior vice-president of finance, corporate strategy and development at SIE.

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