Tencent Hires Shawn Layden, Former President of Sony Interactive Entertainment

Tencent, which made headlines a few weeks ago with its equity stake in Ubisoft and especially Guillemot Brothers Holding (49,9%), is once again at the heart of gaming news. Indeed, we have just learned a few moments ago that Shawn Layden, the former President of Sony Interactive Entertainment America, has been hired by the Chinese giant as a strategic advisor. The information was shared by Shawn Layden himself on his LinkedIn account, stating that he is delighted to join Tencent Games in this new role. His goal will be to advise, assist and support the Tencent team as it deepens its activities and commitments within the video game industry. It must be said that for a few years now, China has become an essential market for video game manufacturers, who can no longer turn away from a country which has more than 1.4 billion inhabitants and whose appetite for games video keeps growing.

 

We are at a watershed moment in gaming and interactive entertainment. There are many possible paths, but only a few are deep, broadening, inclusive, uplifting, inspiring, and/or lasting. I am excited to continue this journey of discovery and thank Tencent for this opportunity.

Shaw Layden proved his vision of video games during his PlayStation years, bringing the Japanese company to the hearts of gamers. Strategy in the PS4 era is indeed a model of strategy and communication, quite the opposite of what Jim Ryan is doing today, the new President of Sony Interactive Entertainment who is slowly but surely scratching PlayStation's ultra-positive image among gamers, with more than controversial decisions. We imagine that his role within Tencent is precisely to prove that the Chinese group has real ambitions in the video game of tomorrow.

Shawn Layden left Sony Interactive Entertainment in September 2019.