It is no secret that PlayStation has been facing serious challenges and a number of questionable business decisions during the current console generation, leaving both players and industry experts puzzled. A string of controversial moves, failed live-service projects, and the sudden end of Sony’s long-standing exclusive partnership with Hideo Kojima have all damaged the reputation of the Japanese gaming giant.
The situation has now drawn sharp criticism from David Jaffe, the celebrated creator of the original God of War, who openly stated that Sony should remove Hermen Hulst from his leadership position at PlayStation Studios.
In his recent comments, Jaffe addressed the broader crisis surrounding Sony’s first-party development teams, arguing that the current leadership is failing to properly understand both the market and the expectations of its own players.
Horizon and PlayStation’s Failed Live-Service Strategy
One of the main triggers for Jaffe’s criticism was a series of recent reports concerning major changes in direction for the upcoming project Horizon Hunters Gathering.
According to Jaffe, it is absurd that PlayStation’s leadership needed so much time to assess the true potential and feasibility of the project. Instead of committing the full resources of Guerrilla Games to an unproven concept, he believes the more sensible and commercially logical approach would have been to release a smaller-scale playtest early in development to measure genuine player interest.
The situation is yet another example of PlayStation’s lengthy and extremely expensive push into the live-service market — a strategy that, in recent years, has resulted in more financial setbacks and cancelled projects than successful new franchises.
Jaffe openly argues that Hermen Hulst does not appear to have the situation under control in the way the head of such a major organization should. In his view, removing Hulst from his leadership role has become a logical and increasingly inevitable outcome.
Losing Kojima May Have Been the Final Straw
Another major blow to the credibility of PlayStation’s leadership came just days after Jaffe’s comments, when it was reported that Hideo Kojima and his upcoming project Physint had moved into the Xbox camp.
Losing a visionary developer who had for years been one of PlayStation’s most recognizable partners and an important figure associated with the platform is being viewed by some within the industry as another major failure for the company’s current management.
Although Jaffe did not address Kojima’s move to Microsoft in the original video, the developments that followed have only added more weight to his criticism.
Across the entertainment industry, questions are now being raised more frequently about how many more questionable business decisions Sony is willing to tolerate before making major changes at the very top of PlayStation Studios.
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