Here's why PlayStation boss Shawn Layden left Sony after 32 years

Back in 2019, Shawn Layden left Sony and PlayStation after 32 years with the company. Now the former gaming executive reveals why.

Shawn Layden has been a figurehead of the PlayStation 4's monolithic generation and helped lead the company to success with multiple big-name exclusives like God of War, Horizon Zero Dawn, and Marvel's Spider-Man. So why would he leave? Layden now says he wanted to depart on a good note--a strategy that many higher-level execs practice.

In a recent interview with Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, Layden says his decision was two-fold: the PlayStation brand's success was an excellent punctuation mark to his 32-year career at Sony, and he wanted to initiate a changing of the guard.

"It's a young person's activity. I felt this [was] a good time to put the pin in my legacy. That seemed like a good time to step off on top and allow another generation to take the PlayStation 5 to market," Layden said.

"I think I took my time at the moment I saw best to take it."

Now Sony's PlayStation division is led by Jim Ryan, who has kicked off a controversial and contentious new generation with the PlayStation 5. Under Ryan, the PlayStation brand has been faced with pushback from fans regarding decisions like up-charging a premium for next-gen upgrades of PS4 games, a new $69.99 MSRP for PS5 games, and multiple cross-gen games despite assurances specific games were built from the ground up for PlayStation 5.