The PlayStation division is Sony’s crown jewel, but it’s increasingly having trouble hanging onto high-level executives.
Shawn Layden is the latest to depart the role. The unexpected news was announced late Monday via Tweet from the PlayStation account.
“It is with great emotion that we announce that Worldwide Studios Chairman Shawn Layden will be departing SIE,” the company said. “His visionary leadership will be greatly missed. We wish him success in future endeavors and are deeply grateful for his years of service. Thanks for everything, Shawn!”
Important details, such as the reason for Layden’s departure and who would be filling the role, were not supplied. When contacted by Fortune for more details, a PlayStation representative said the company had “nothing to announce … other than what was tweeted out.”
Layden, who spent 32 years at Sony, was the third head of the PlayStation unit to leave the job in the past five years. Jack Tretton, who held the job for eight years, left in 2014. And Andrew House, left in 2017, ending a 27 year run with the company.
It is with great emotion that we announce that Worldwide Studios Chairman Shawn Layden will be departing SIE. His visionary leadership will be greatly missed. We wish him success in future endeavors and are deeply grateful for his years of service. Thanks for everything, Shawn!
— PlayStation (@PlayStation) September 30, 2019
It is with great emotion that we announce that Worldwide Studios Chairman Shawn Layden will be departing SIE. His visionary leadership will be greatly missed. We wish him success in future endeavors and are deeply grateful for his years of service. Thanks for everything, Shawn!
Other recent high profile departures include Adam Boyes, who oversaw relations with third-party companies, in 2016 and John Drake, former head of Sony’s portfolio and content acquisition efforts, who left earlier this year.
Layden leaves Sony as the PlayStation 5 likely prepares for a 2020 launch and soon after the acquisition of developer Insomniac Games (makers of Spider-Man), a deal many insiders saw as a win for the company.
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