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Former PlayStation head Shawn Layden joins Tencent Games as advisor

After laying low for a few years, former SIE Worldwide Studios chairman Shawn Layden is resurfacing as an advisor for Tencent Games.

Ozzie Mejia

September 20, 2022 12:10 PM

PlayStation

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It's been a few years since we checked in on Shawn Layden, the former head of Sony Worldwide Studios. All has been relatively quiet with him since leaving the PlayStation brand that he helped build over the course of decades. However, he suddenly popped up again late Monday evening, as he revealed that he would be joining Tencent Games in an advisory role.

Layden posted the following to his LinkedIn page on Monday:

I am delighted to share that I have recently joined #Tencent Games as a strategic advisor. In this new role, I hope to advise, assist, and support the team at Tencent as they deepen their activities and commitments within the industry to which I've devoted the majority of my career. We are at an epoch defining moment in gaming and interactive entertainment. There are many possible roads ahead but only a few are profound, broadening, inclusive, edifying, inspiring, and/or sustainable. I am thrilled to continue this journey of discovery and thank Tencent for the opportunity.

Layden exited PlayStation back in October 2019 under mysterious circumstances. In a September 2021 interview with IGN, he ultimately cited burnout as the reason he left, opting instead to leave the future of PlayStation in the hands of a younger generation.

Tencent has been busy over the last several months, announcing stakes in FromSoftware, upping its stake in Ubisoft's parent company, and also announcing development of a cloud gaming handheld with Logitech.

We'll continue to watch for the latest news from Tencent and maybe we'll even see Shawn Layden's name pop up again. Keep it on Shacknews for any further updates.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?