PlayStation boss Andrew House is departing Sony after 27 years

Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) president and global CEO, Andrew House, is stepping down and leaving Sony after 27 years with the PlayStation maker. 

John Kodera, deputy president of SIE, will take over the role, although House will stay on as chairman until the end of the year to ensure a smooth transition. 

House, who has become the public face of the PlayStation brand in recent years, began his career at Sony way back in 1990. 

Back then, he served in corporate communication at Sony HQ, before moving to the marketing and communications division at Sony Computer Entertainment in 1995. 

From there, he contributed to the launch of the first PlayStation, and after moving through a number of key roles at the company, was eventually made president and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment in 2011. 

Since then, House has led the charge from the front, driving the launch of the PlayStation 4 -- which has sold over 60 million units to date -- and overseeing the development and release of Sony's PlayStation VR virtual reality headset. 

Looking back on his many years with Sony, the exec said he's "tremendously proud" of everything he's achieved, but explained it's time to "pursue new challenges." 

"I'm tremendously proud of what we’ve built with PlayStation and Sony Interactive Entertainment: entertaining millions globally with the best in games and creating a fully fledged digital entertainment company," he said.

"PlayStation has been a huge part of my life for more than 20 years but with the business having achieved record-breaking success, now seemed to be the right time for me to pursue new challenges.

"I shall always treasure the friendships and people that have made SIE such a wonderful place to work. I'm also grateful to PlayStation fans and gamers around the world for their loyalty and support. John and the team at SIE are world-class and I know the future of PlayStation is very bright."