Guerrilla Games Co-Founder Herman Hulst Named New Head Of Sony PlayStation's Worldwide Studios

A year out from the release of the PlayStation 5, Sony on Thursday announced Herman Hulst will replace Shuhei Yoshida as president of Sony Worldwide Studios.

Hulst, co-founder and managing director of Guerrilla Games, will oversee developers under PlayStation’s umbrella while Yoshida will take on a new position, nurturing relationships with smaller independent developers around the world.

As the new Worldwide Studios president, Hulst will oversee Sony Interactive Entertainment’s 15 internal studios developing games for PlayStation consoles. The list includes the recently acquired Insomiac Games, Santa Monica Studios, Sucker Punch Productions, Japan Studio and Naughty Dog.

“Hermen is one of the most effective and well-respected leaders in the video game industry,” PlayStation CEO and President Jim Ryan told GamesIndustry.biz. “He is a passionate advocate for the teams he leads and understands how to empower creative talent to build great experiences. I have no doubt Hermen can lead our teams to deliver compelling and diverse experiences at a steady cadence.”

Hulst helped found Guerrilla Games in 2000 as Lost Boy Games, part of a merger of three smaller studios. It was renamed Guerilla Games in 2003 after being acquired by Media Republic before finally being sold to Sony in 2005.

Under PlayStation’s Worldwide Studios banner, Hulst oversaw the development and launch of the “Killzone” franchise from 2004 to 2013 and 2017’s “Horizon: Zero Dawn.” Hulst and Guerrilla also provided developer support for 2019’s “Death Stranding” from Kojima Productions.

“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 U.S., Europe and Japan,” Hulst said.

The change also comes a month after former Worldwide Studios Chairman Shawn Layden left Sony Interactive Entertainment.