PlayStation’s Adam Boyes Leaving Sony To Make Indie Games
Adam Boyes, PlayStation’s Vice President of Third Party Relations, is leaving his position at PlayStation to return to making games.
Boyes, who announced his decision via a series of posts on Twitter, as well as on the PlayStation Blogcast on Thursday, is leaving his post after more than four years and said he made what was a “very hard decision.”
After an incredible journey here at PlayStation, I’ve made the very hard decision to return to the world of game development!… The past 4+ years have been an absolutely amazing experience! I’d like to start out by thanking the incredible PlayStation Nation fans. Lots of thanks to throw out over the coming week as I wrap things up to head out on my new adventure… stay tuned.
Boyes has been a big part of Sony’s rise in popularity and success since the debut of the PlayStation 4 in 2013. After struggling to connect with gamers early in the PlayStation 3 era, Sony made a strong effort to connect with fans early and often with the release of the PS4. Boyes appeared on stage at E3 and other media events, has been active on Twitter engaging with fans, and perhaps most notably, appeared in a humorous video alongside Sony’s President of Worldwide Studios Shuhei Yoshida explaining how PS4 gamers would be able to share games with their friends — a not-so-subtle jab at Microsoft’s, at the time, restrictive online policy for the Xbox One.
On the Blogcast, Boyes expressed a desire to make games again, something he did in the past at places like EA Canada, Midway and Capcom. He was part of teams that produced games such as MLB Slugfest: Loaded, NHL Hitz: Pro, and Blitz: The League.
While he did not specifically mention who he would be going to work for, he did later indicate that he’s heading for an indie developer.
It’s been an amazing run. I’ve been here for over four years and had an incredible, incredible experience here. And I want to go make games again. That’s basically the next chapter of Adam’s story, is making games.
He also tried to reassure fans that everything at Sony would continue on as normal, thanks to the great team he’s leaving behind.
The best news is that we have an incredible team here so the development & publishing community & gamers are in GREAT hands!
“This is my 21st year in games. My wife says, ‘why would you leave? [Every gamer] on the planet would want this job.’ But sometimes you have to follow your dreams. And throwing caution to the wind is pretty exciting — this is my big, dumb decision.”
Boyes has been with Sony since 2012 and was instrumental in bringing smaller and indie titles to PlayStation. One of the most anticipated PS4 (and PC) titles, No Man’s Sky, has finally gone gold and will be released on August 9. Additionally, Boyes was one of the key players in partnering game developers with the PlayStation VR hardware. PS VR launches on October 13 with a launch lineup that includes games such as 100 ft. Robot Golf, Ace Combat 7, Battle Zone, Eagle Flight, and EVE Valkyrie, among others.
The news of Boyes’ departure comes one week after Nick Suttner also announced he was leaving. Suttner was also instrumental in working with smaller developers and was considered a champion of independent developers.
[Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision for SCEA/AP Images]
