Shuhei Yoshida has reportedly stated during an appearance at Australia’s Alt:Games festival over the weekend that he was fired from his senior position at Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios because he “didn’t listen” to then-CEO Jim Ryan.
Yoshida-san, who departed PlayStation after more than 30 years in early 2025, revealed during the event that he was asked by Ryan to “do some ridiculous things,” which he refused to do.
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. 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 had previously revealed that he had ‘no choice‘ in moving from SIE Worldwide Studios to heading up the format holder’s indie efforts, as it was either that or leave the company.
Yoshida has given many interviews since he departed Sony. Back in November 2025, he appeared on the My Perfect Console podcast and revealed that Sony Santa Monica Studio — the developer behind God of War – had been working on a new IP but decided to scrap the project despite having put $25 million into the project. Earlier that same year, he told Game File that he was passed over for the role of PlayStation CEO as he wasn’t trusted to make the best business decisions.
[Source – This Week In Video Games]