Hermen Hulst is ready to be PlayStation’s head of Worldwide Studios. The former managing director at Guerrilla Games says that Sony has big plans for thePlayStation 5that include creating “new and different experiences for a new generation of gamers.”
In November, after nearly two decades working onHorizion: Zero Dawnand theKillzonefranchise at Guerrilla,Hulst was announced as the new head of Worldwide Studios. He is replacing games industry icon Shuhei Yoshida, who is stepping into a new position that will work with external developers to bring new games into the PlayStation ecosystem.
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In an interview with Gamesindustry.biz, Hulst was profiled and discussed working onDeath StrandingwithHideo Kojima, his years of experience at Guerrilla, and hinted at what is on deck for the next generation of PlayStation hardware. Citing the wide range of diversity in terms of scale of games available on the PlayStation platform, Hulst said the following.
As PlayStation, we need to provide a platform that includes all those different voices, all those different experiences. We are very committed to the types of games we’ve been making at Worldwide Studios for the last decade: big, spectacular experiences with story and characters at the core. We will keep making these games, because we love to make them. And as a brand we are eager to branch out and start including and curating a new generation of developers, that create new and different experiences for a new generation of gamers.
While the statement seemingly doesn’t say much new information, it seems to confirm that Sony is staying the course in terms of its approach to coming out on top of the next console cycle. The PS4 was so successful because of itslineup of great exclusive gamesranging from AAA to indie projects. Hulst’s quote makes it very likely that Sony will continue to deliver the same type of polished, narrative-driven single-player epics likeGod of WarandThe Last of Usin the coming generation as well as continue cultivating indie teams to make games for PlayStation.
Don’t expect the formula for what makes a landmark PlayStation 5 exclusive to change any time soon. Hulst made no mention of the streaming future and the services the PlayStation 5 will offer. Unlike Microsoft, who is taking risks by focusing on xCloud and streaming games, Sony is playing it safe for next-gen and hoping that good games and the momentum of the PS4 will carry it to victory.
