Shuhei Yoshida: Fired for Defying Sony Boss’s ‘Ridiculous’ Demands, Indie Advocate Recounts Push

Shuhei Yoshida, a 30-year PlayStation veteran, says he was fired from his Worldwide Studios leadership role in 2019 after refusing what he called ‘ridiculous’ requests from then-CEO Jim Ryan, who pushed Sony to embrace live-service games. Yoshida, who loved indie games, later led a post focused on indie developers under Hermen Hulst, and he notes he would have resisted the live-service push if in charge. Sony’s live-service strategy has yielded mixed results, with Concord’s failure contrasted against brighter spots like Helldivers 2 and MLB The Show; Sony’s next earnings report is due May 8.