PlayStation’s head of global second-party games, Gio Corsi, leaves Sony

Gio Corsi, PlayStation’s head of global second-party games, has announced he’s left the company.

In a tweet on his personal Twitter account, Corsi – who joined the company as a senior director just ahead of the launch of PlayStation 4 in 2013 – said it had been “a hell of a ride” and was “extremely proud of all the amazing things [PlayStation] accomplished”. 

“It’s been a hell of a ride but last week was my final one at PlayStation,” Corsi tweeted (thanks, GI.biz). “I’m taking some time off but I will be back in games soon enough. I’m extremely proud of all the amazing things we accomplished. Big love to everyone past & present who made my time there truly special.”

It’s been a hell of a ride but last week was my final one at PlayStation. I’m taking some time off but I will be back in games soon enough. I’m extremely proud of all the amazing things we accomplished. Big love to everyone past & present who made my time there truly special 1/4 pic.twitter.com/sAV34jEcQF

— GIODUDE (@giocorsi) November 4, 2019

After a couple of tweets in which Corsi thanked a number of colleagues, he then added: “Finally, a hearty thank-you to all the great devs, pubs, partners, friends & fans who made my time at PlayStation so memorable.. so many cool moments. From all the titles, to all the shows, as I said, it was a hell of a ride! Thanks for it all & long love the Vita!”

As yet, Corsi has not detailed what’s next, but says he’ll be “back in games soon enough”.

It’s the latest in a number of changes in Sony’s senior ranks, including the recent departure of Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Worldwide Studios former chairman, Shawn Layden. Sony did not elaborate on why or when Layden was departing the company, and to date, Layden has not acknowledged the move on any of his public-facing social media channels. PlayStation, however, announced the news on its official PlayStation twitter account.

In its latest financials, Sony revealed its current-gen system, PlayStation 4, has now shipped 102.8 million units, eclipsing both the original PlayStation and Nintendo Wii and making it the second-highest selling home console of all time, second only to the PlayStation 2 which boasts 155m lifetime sales. By comparison, it’s estimated that Microsoft’s Xbox One has sold around 41m consoles, although the company has chosen not to formally confirm hardware sales of its current-gen system.

It wasn’t all good news from Sony, however. Its PlayStation business saw “significant decreases” over the period, with sales generated in its Game & Network Services division – which houses PlayStation – falling 17 per cent year-over-year (YoY) to ¥454.4 billion ($4.17 billion), down ¥95.7 billion ($878.5 million) on the same period last year.