Shawn Layden, wearer of Crash Bandicoot t-shirts and former Sony Worldwide Studios chairman, has taken to Twitter to label the acquisition of Insomniac Games as one of his greatest achievements. Sony snapped up the Ratchet & Clank studio last August, much to the delight of fans.
Shawn Layden On Insomniac Games Acquisition
Layden sadly departed Sony suddenly in September 2019, and his reasons remain unknown to this day. Nonetheless, here’s what he had to say about snapping up Insomniac during his time with the hardware giant:
Seems a lifetime ago. Yet one of the greatest achievements I was fortunate to associate myself with at PlayStation. So good, so right. Continue to greatness you crazy Insomniacs! Fun fact : in the biz this swag is called a “tombstone”. Natch.
Getting Insomniac under the Sony umbrella is obviously a big deal for the company, as it’s responsible for a number of major titles, including Marvel’s Spider-Man. In addition, this also means the likes of Sunset Overdrive, which was released as an Xbox One-exclusive, is now owned by Sony.
Layden has a long history with Sony, having joined its communications department back in 1987. Until 1999, he oversaw international software development at Sony London, after which he was promoted to vice president of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe.
In 2007, he ascended to President of SCEJ, and went on to serve as the executive vice president and COO of Sony Network Entertainment International in 2010. Layden was appointed president of SCEA in 2014 after Jack Tretton stepped down from the position, after which he became the public face for Sony during E3.
March 2018 saw Layden’s role shift yet again, where he focused solely on Worldwide Studios to “provide platform-defining content that helps drive the growth of SIE.”
While it isn’t known when Layden departed the company, it has been rumored his decision comes down to an internal power struggle with Jim Ryan, president of Sony Interactive Entertainment.