TL;DR
Sony Interactive Entertainment's former president Shuhei Yoshida has publicly stated that he finds the company's decision to shutter Japan Studio "unbelievable," according to a new report from Kotaku. This rare criticism from a top-tier PlayStation veteran exposes deep internal divisions over Sony's pivot away from experimental, art-driven game development toward blockbuster franchises and Western-style management.
What Happened
Shuhei Yoshida, the former president of Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), told Kotaku in an interview published Tuesday that the closure of Japan Studio remains a decision he cannot reconcile with the studio's creative legacy. The veteran executive, who oversaw PlayStation's first-party output for more than a decade before stepping down in 2019, used the word "unbelievable" to describe the company's move to dissolve one of the most storied first-party studios in the industry.
Yoshida's comments come five years after Sony effectively shut down Japan Studio in 2021, consolidating its remaining staff into the smaller Team Asobi. The interview marks one of the most direct critiques of corporate strategy from a former high-ranking insider.
Key Facts
- Former SIE president Shuhei Yoshida called the closure of Japan Studio "unbelievable" in a new interview with Kotaku.
- Japan Studio was Sony’s longest-running first-party developer, founded in 1993 and responsible for titles such as Shadow of the Colossus, Gravity Rush, and The Last Guardian.
- The studio was shut down in 2021, with roughly 100 employees either laid off or absorbed into Team Asobi, which became a separate subsidiary.
- At its peak, Japan Studio employed more than 400 people and operated multiple internal teams.
- Yoshida served as SIE president from 2008 to 2019 and was a vocal advocate for Japan Studio's projects during his tenure.
- The closure was part of a broader restructuring under current SIE leadership that prioritized blockbuster live-service games and Western-developed franchises.
- Kotaku's report, dated July 28, 2026, suggests Yoshida's comments reflect a long-standing internal disagreement over Sony's strategic direction.
Breaking It Down
Yoshida's "unbelievable" characterisation is not merely an emotional reaction; it is a direct challenge to the official narrative that Japan Studio's closure was a necessary business decision. Since its dissolution, Sony has repeatedly framed the move as a rational cost-cutting and focus-shifting exercise. Yet Yoshida, who knows the studio's internal operations better than almost anyone outside current leadership, is now publicly questioning that logic.
"It's unbelievable that a company with Sony’s resources would shut down a studio that defined its creative identity for nearly three decades."
That implicit calculation — the value of creative identity versus quarterly earnings — sits at the heart of Yoshida's criticism. Japan Studio was never the highest-grossing unit within PlayStation, but it produced the kind of critically acclaimed, genre-defying games that burnished the PlayStation brand. Shadow of the Colossus (2005), Ico (2001), and Gravity Rush (2012) are not blockbusters by revenue, but they are touchstones that competitors like Microsoft and Nintendo have not matched in artistic prestige. By shutting down Japan Studio, SIE signalled that such prestige is no longer part of its calculus.
The timing of Yoshida's interview is also telling. In 2026, Sony is still grappling with the fallout of its pivot toward live-service games. The costly failure of several multiplayer projects in 2024–2025 has forced the company to re-evaluate. Yoshida's comments land amid a growing chorus of industry veterans and analysts who argue that Sony's Western-first strategy has eroded the very distinctiveness that made PlayStation a dominant platform. By invoking the "unbelievable" closure, Yoshida is giving cover to those who want a return to a more balanced portfolio.
Furthermore, Yoshida’s willingness to speak publicly suggests a shift in the internal culture at Sony. Since leaving SIE, he has remained an advisor and public figure, but he rarely criticises his former employer. The fact that he chose Kotaku — a site that has been critical of Sony's recent decisions — indicates he either feels the company's current direction is harming the brand or he believes the historical record needs correcting.
What Comes Next
The immediate consequence of Yoshida's interview will be renewed pressure on SIE's current leadership to justify the Japan Studio closure. Expect Sony to face pointed questions during its next earnings call or investor briefing. However, more specific developments are likely:
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Increased scrutiny of Team Asobi's output. Sony will likely accelerate marketing for Team Asobi's next major title, Astro Bot, to demonstrate that the Japan Studio legacy lives on in a smaller, more focused unit. If that game underperforms, it will fuel arguments that the closure was a mistake.
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Potential fallout in Japanese developer relations. Japan Studio was a bridge between SIE and third-party Japanese studios. With that bridge gone, Sony's share of the Japanese console market has fallen below 20% (from over 40% in 2010). Yoshida's comments may embolden Japanese developers to publicly criticise Sony's lack of support for domestic talent.
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A possible official response from SIE. Current SIE president Jim Ryan
