In this role, Hulst will manage and lead all game development across the 14 studios that form Worldwide Studios. The company also announced that Shuhei Yoshida will leave his current position as President, WWS, to become head of a newly formed initiative that will focus on nurturing external independent creators.
"Hermen is one of the most effective and well-respected leaders in the video game industry. He is a passionate advocate for the teams he leads and understands how to empower creative talent to build great experiences," said Jim Ryan, President and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment. "Worldwide Studios is a critical part of the future success of the company, and we must deliver on the promise we have made to gamers to create imaginative and exciting content that is truly unique to PlayStation. I have no doubt Hermen can lead our teams to deliver compelling and diverse experiences at a steady cadence."
Hulst co-founded Amsterdam-based Guerrilla, and most recently served as Managing Director. The studio is best known for the Killzone franchise, which debuted on PlayStation 2 in 2004, and the acclaimed Horizon Zero Dawn, which launched in 2017 on PS4. Under Hulst's leadership, Guerrilla has continued to innovate and developed Decima, a proprietary game engine launched in 2013 and used for the production of a range of titles, including the upcoming Death Stranding by Kojima Productions. Sony Computer Entertainment acquired Guerilla in 2005. Angie Smets, Jan-Bart van Beek and Michiel van der Leeuw will take over Hulst's duties at Guerrilla as joint studio heads.
"I have worked closely with PlayStation and the entire Worldwide Studios family since 2001, and I have the utmost respect and admiration for the creative talent and ambitious ideas within the network of studios across the US, Europe, and Japan," said Hulst, Head of Worldwide Studios. "I am beyond excited to have the opportunity now to lead such an inspired and talented team whose singular mission is to build amazing games for PlayStation fans."
Today, SIE also announced a new company initiative led by PlayStation veteran Shuhei Yoshida and focused on celebrating external developers that are creating new and unexpected experiences for the gaming community. Reporting directly to Jim Ryan, Yoshida will leave his role at WWS to concentrate on our diverse community of independent developers, ensuring they have the tools, technology, and services to reach PlayStation's large community of gamers successfully.
"I am thrilled to announce Shu Yoshida as head of this new initiative. Everybody knows just how passionate Shu is about independent games – they are lifeblood of the industry, making our content portfolio so special for our gamers. These wildly creative experiences deserve focus and a champion like Shu at PlayStation who will ensure the entire SIE organization works together to better engage with independent developers through a culture of supporting and celebrating their contributions to PlayStation platforms," added Ryan.