PlayStation confirms surprise departure of veteran Layden

PlayStation veteran Shawn Layden is leaving the company after three decades at the platform holder.

Sony Interactive Entertainment announced the news via Twitter on Monday, but did not offer a reason for the departure or details on a successor.

Layden’s most recent role at PlayStation was chairman of Worldwide Studios. He was previously president and CEO of PlayStation’s American operation and has performed various roles since joining Sony in 1987.

“It is with great emotion that we announce that Worldwide Studios Chairman Shawn Layden will be departing SIE,” reads the tweet from PlayStation.

“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!”

Update October 1 at 4.15pm BST: SIE has also announced the retirement of PlayStation Japan Asia president and corporate director Atsushi Morita.

Original story continues: SIE is currently preparing for the launch of PlayStation 5, its next generation console planned for 2020.

As described in the first PlayStation 5 details article, the next-gen PlayStation has dramatically reduced loading times compared to PS4 Pro, with players able to fast travel across game worlds near-instantaneously.

Sony has previously released a video comparing load times in PS4 title Marvel’s Spider-Man, running on both PS4 Pro and its next-gen PlayStation hardware.