Shawn Layden, former CEO of Sony America, announced that he has joined Tencent Games as a strategic advisor.
Shawn Layden said he will provide advice, help and support to the Tencent team in this new role. He is delighted to continue his journey to collaborate with the world gaming brand.
“In this new role, I hope to mentor and support the team at Tencent as they develop their activities and engagement in the gaming industry. I promise to devote myself to the development of the company,” Layden said.
Shawn Layden joined Tencent.
Tencent has become one of the biggest game publishers in recent years. The studio has acquired a number of studios including the developer Back 4 Blood, Turtle Rock Studios and Sackboy: A Big Adventure’s Sumo Group. The corporation also owns Riot Games – the production unit of League of Legends, 40% of Fortnite’s Epic Games and 16.25% of FromSoftware Elden Ring studio.
According to the report, Layden joined Sony’s corporate communications division in Tokyo, Japan in 1987 and worked for several years as a communications assistant under Sony co-founder Akio Morita. He then worked as an international software development manager at Sony Computer Entertainment’s London studio until 1999, when he became Vice President of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe.
Shawn Layden has many years of experience in the gaming industry.
In October 2007, he became the President of Sony Computer Entertainment Japan, a position he held until March 2010. In 2010, the new advisor to Tencent became a founding member of Sony Network Entertainment International and holds the position of Executive Director.
In 2014, Layden succeeded Jack Tretton as president and COO of Sony Computer Entertainment America, and in 2018 became president of Sony Worldwide Studios. He then resigned from Sony Interactive Entertainment on October 1, 2019.
Layden graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1983 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. He is fluent in Japanese. It is worth mentioning that at TGA 2018 last year, then Microsoft of Xbox were Phil Spencer (Phil Spencer), President of Sony Worldwide Studios Shawn Layden (Shawn Layden), Nintendo of America, Reggie Reggie Fils-Aime (Reggie Fils-Aime) is a rare “century in the same frame”.
