Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC (SIE) is an American company that makes video games and digital entertainment. It is part of the Sony Group Corporation, a large Japanese company. SIE mainly manages the PlayStation brand, which includes video game consoles and related products. It is also the largest company in the video game industry based on its investments and income.

In 1993, Sony and Sony Music Entertainment Japan worked together to create Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCE) in Tokyo. The next year, SCE released the PlayStation video game console in Japan. Later, the console was sold in the United States and Europe the following year. In 2010, Sony reorganized its business and created Sony Network Entertainment International (SNEI) in California. SNEI offered gaming services through the PlayStation Network and other media services through Sony Entertainment Network. These services included selling game titles and content on the PlayStation Store, as well as providing PlayStation Plus and Media Go. In 2016, SCE and SNEI joined to form Sony Interactive Entertainment. The new company was announced to be based in the United States.

History

Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. (SCEI) was created in 1993 by Sony and Sony Music Entertainment Japan. The company was formed to manage Sony's work in the video game industry. The first PlayStation console was released in Japan on December 3, 1994. Sony Computer Entertainment of America (SCEA) was established in May 1995 as part of Sony Electronic Publishing. SCEA's office was located in Foster City, California, and was led by Steve Race. Sony Computer Entertainment Europe was founded in London, England, in 1994. Many of the original development staff had little or no experience in the video game industry. Most were recent college graduates, as reported by Next Generation magazine.

Before the PlayStation was released in Western countries, Sony reorganized its operations. In July 1995, all video game marketing from Sony Imagesoft was moved to SCEA. Employees from Santa Monica were transferred to Foster City. On August 7, 1995, Steve Race resigned and became CEO of Spectrum HoloByte. He was replaced by Martin Homlish, a veteran from Sony Electronics. This marked the start of frequent changes in leadership. The PlayStation was released in the United States on September 9, 1995. In 1997, SCE's American and European divisions became fully owned subsidiaries of SCEI.

In 1998, Sony Computer Entertainment America signed a deal with Disney Interactive to publish games based on A Bug's Life and Tarzan exclusively on the PlayStation. The PlayStation 2 was released in Japan on March 4, 2000, and in the United States on October 26, 2000. In 2001, the SCEA/Disney deal expanded to include games based on Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Monsters, Inc., Treasure Planet, Lilo & Stitch, and Peter Pan: Return to Never Land for the PlayStation and PlayStation 2. In 2002, Shigeo Maruyama, chairman of SCEI, was replaced by Tamotsu Iba. Jack Tretton and Phil Harrison were promoted to senior vice presidents of SCE.

The PlayStation Portable (PSP) was SCEI's first handheld console. Its development was announced at SCE's E3 conference in 2003. The PSP was officially revealed on May 11, 2004. It was released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in Europe and Australia on September 1, 2005.

On September 1, 2005, SCEI created SCE Worldwide Studios to manage all of its owned development studios. This group oversaw the creative and strategic direction of all software made for PlayStation consoles. Shuhei Yoshida became president of Worldwide Studios on May 16, 2008, replacing Kazuo Hirai, who had served temporarily after Phil Harrison left the company.

On December 8, 2005, Sony acquired Guerrilla Games, creators of the Killzone series, as part of Worldwide Studios. On January 24, 2006, Sony also acquired Zipper Interactive, creators of the Socom series, as part of Worldwide Studios.

In March 2006, Sony announced the online network for its upcoming PlayStation 3 (PS3) system. The service was named "PlayStation Network Platform" and later became known as PlayStation Network (PSN). Sony stated the service would be always connected, free, and support multiplayer games.

The PS3 was announced by Kazuo Hirai on May 8, 2006, during a pre-E3 event in California. The PS3 was released in Japan on November 11, 2006, and in the United States on November 17, 2006. The PlayStation Network launched in November 2006.

On November 30, 2006, Ken Kutaragi became chairman of SCEI, while Kazuo Hirai was promoted to president of SCEI. On April 26, 2007, Ken Kutaragi resigned as chairman and group CEO, passing his role to Kazuo Hirai.

On September 20, 2007, Sony acquired Evolution Studios and Bigbig Studios, creators of the MotorStorm series, as part of Worldwide Studios.

On April 15, 2009, David Reeves, president and CEO of SCE Europe, announced his resignation. He had joined Sony in 1995 and was later promoted to chairman of SCEE in 2003 and president in 2005. His role was taken over by Andrew House, who had joined Sony in 1990. The PSP Go was released in North America and Europe on October 1, 2009, and in Japan on November 1, 2009.

On April 1, 2010, SCEI was restructured to combine Sony's mobile electronics and personal computer divisions. The Japanese division of SCEI was temporarily renamed "SNE Platform Inc." (SNEP). It was split into two groups: one focused on the console business (with 1,300 employees) and another focused on network services (with 60 to 70 employees). The network service group was absorbed into Sony Corp's Network Products & Service Group (NPSG), which was led by Kazuo Hirai since April 2009. The original SCEI was dissolved after the restructuring.

The North American and European branches of SCEI remained as SCEA and SCEE. Kazuo Hirai, then SCEI CEO and Sony Corporation EVP, led both departments. Sony Network Entertainment International (SNEI) was also created on April 1, 2010, with Tim Schaaff as its president. SNEI managed the PlayStation Network and offered the Media Go software.

On March 2, 2010, Sony acquired Media Molecule, creators of the PlayStation 3 game LittleBigPlanet, as part of Worldwide Studios. On August 23, 2010, the company's headquarters moved from Minami-Aoyama to Sony City in Kōnan, Minato, Tokyo.

On April 20, 2011, Sony's PlayStation Network and Sony Online Entertainment were attacked, causing a system outage. On August 1, 2011, Sony acquired Sucker Punch Productions, creators of the Sly Cooper and Infamous series.

In August 2011, Sony announced the Sony Entertainment Network, which combined music, video, and PlayStation Network services. Starting February 8, 2012, PlayStation Network accounts were converted to Sony Entertainment Network accounts.

In January 2012, BigBig Studios was closed, and Cambridge Studio was renamed Guerrilla Cambridge, becoming a sister studio to Guerrilla

Corporate affairs

Hideaki Nishino is the president and CEO of SIE. The first and longest-serving CEO of SIE was Ken Kutaragi, who worked from 1993 to 2007. He is also called the "Father of the PlayStation" and was the honorary chairman of SIE for four more years after leaving his CEO role. Kutaragi continues to work at Sony as a senior technology advisor. As of November 7, 2019, Hermen Hulst is the Head of Worldwide Studios.

SIE has eight main headquarters worldwide. These are:

• Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC and Sony Interactive Entertainment America LLC (San Mateo, California) — manages operations for North America and Latin America (except Cuba and the Caribbean countries)
• Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe Limited (London, England, United Kingdom) — manages operations in Europe, South Africa, the Middle East, India, New Zealand, and Turkey (except Russia, Egypt, Belarus, and Baltic countries)
• Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. and Sony Interactive Entertainment Japan Asia (Minato, Tokyo, Japan) — manages operations in Japan and was also the regional headquarters for Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
• Sony Interactive Entertainment Australia Pty. Ltd. (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia) — manages operations in Australia. It was previously a part of Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe and once managed operations in New Zealand.
• Sony Interactive Entertainment Korea (Seoul, South Korea) — manages operations in South Korea
• Sony Interactive Entertainment Singapore (Singapore) — manages operations in Southeast Asia
• Sony Interactive Entertainment Taiwan (Taipei, Taiwan) — manages operations in Taiwan
• Sony Interactive Entertainment Shanghai (Shanghai, China) — manages operations in mainland China
• Sony Interactive Entertainment Hong Kong (Hong Kong) — manages operations in Hong Kong and Macau

SIE also has smaller offices and distribution centers in Los Angeles, California; San Diego, California; Toronto, Ontario; Adelaide, South Australia; Melbourne, Victoria; Seoul, South Korea; Singapore; Shanghai, China; and Liverpool, England.

SIE reviews and approves games for its consoles. This process is more strict than Nintendo’s Seal of Quality. Developers share game ideas with Sony early in the design process. Each SIE unit has its own approval process. For example, SIEE approved the game Billy the Wizard for its customers, but SIEA did not. The company sometimes adds extra rules, such as when it did not allow PS and PS2 games to be moved to the PSP unless 30% of the content was new for the Sony console.

Hardware

SCEI makes the PlayStation line of video game hardware, which includes both consoles and handheld devices. Sony's first major home console, the PlayStation (called "PSX" during development), was first planned as a CD-ROM drive add-on for Nintendo's Super NES (known as "Super Famicom" in Japan). This idea came after other companies, like Sega and NEC, released similar add-ons for their systems. When the plan to make the PlayStation an add-on did not work, Sony redesigned it into a standalone unit.

The PlayStation was released in Japan on December 3, 1994, and later in North America on September 9, 1995. Over the 12-year time it was made, the PlayStation sold 102 million units.

SCEI's second home console, the PlayStation 2 (PS2), was released in Japan on March 4, 2000, and later in North America and Europe in October and November 2000. The PS2 used a special type of central processing unit called the Emotion Engine. It was the first console to include DVD playback and could play games from the original PlayStation without needing extra software.

The PS2 included a DVD drive and sold for $299 in the United States. After its release, SCEI faced criticism because some games were hard to design, and users had trouble moving games from the Sega Dreamcast to the PS2. Despite these issues, many game developers supported the PS2 throughout its time on the market.

On December 28, 2012, Sony said it would stop making the PS2, but the console remained popular in some countries like Brazil and India. PS2 games were still released in March 2013. The PS2 is the best-selling home console in history, with 155 million units sold.

In 2012, James Plafke from ExtremeTech called the PS2 "revolutionary" and said it "changed the gaming industry in a major way."

The PlayStation Portable (PSP) was SCEI's first handheld console. Its development was first announced in 2003, and it was officially shown in May 2004. The PSP was released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in Europe and Australia on September 1, 2005. It had five models with improvements like smaller size, more memory, better screens, and lighter weight. Production of the PSP ended worldwide in 2014.

The PS3 was announced in May 2006 by Sony's leader, Hirai. It was released in Japan on November 11, 2006, and in the United States on November 17, 2006. Sony made two versions of the PS3: one with a 20GB hard drive and another with a 60GB hard drive.

The PS3 used a special processor called the Cell microprocessor, developed by Sony, Toshiba, and IBM. Its graphics processor, the RSX "Reality Synthesizer," was made by Sony and Nvidia. Different versions of the PS3 had slight changes in hardware and software, often based on the size of the hard drive.

The PS Vita was the next handheld console after the PSP. It was released in Japan and parts of Asia on December 17, 2011, and in Europe, Australia, and North America on February 22, 2012. The Vita had a 4-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor and a 4-core SGX543MP4+ graphics unit. It used LiveArea software as its main interface, replacing the XrossMediaBar.

Sony stopped making the Vita and physical game cartridges on March 1, 2019.

The PS4 was introduced as the next console after the PS3. It launched in North America on November 15, 2013, in Europe on November 29, 2013, and in Japan on February 23, 2014. Sony called it a "next generation" console and included features like better social tools, support for second-screen devices like the PlayStation Vita, a membership service, and compatibility with Twitch, a live streaming platform.

In January 2014, China announced it would lift a 14-year ban on game consoles. The PS4 was the first Sony console to be legally sold in China since the PlayStation 2. Around 70 game developers, including Ubisoft and Koei, planned to support Chinese PlayStation users.

China's release dates and prices were announced in December 2014, with the PS4 and Vita set to launch on January 11, 2015. The PS4 package included options for 500GB and 1TB hard drives and controllers.

The 20th anniversary of the original PlayStation was celebrated on December 6, 2014, with a special-edition PS4 that looked like the original 1994 model.

The PS5 was announced in 2019 to replace the PS4. It was released in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, North America, and South Korea on November 12, 2020, and globally on November 19, 2020.

Software and franchises

Since 2005, SIE has operated several studios that create games exclusively for PlayStation consoles. In 2020, these studios were officially renamed PlayStation Studios. All of these studios make games that are only available on PlayStation consoles for Sony.

A table lists the current and former studios linked to SIE, along with the games or series they are known for. Bungie, a well-known game studio, became an independent publisher under SIE in July 2022.

Between 2020 and 2025, SIE released some of its exclusive PlayStation games for Windows computers. The first was Horizon: Zero Dawn in August 2020, followed by Days Gone in May 2021. A Sony executive explained that the company wanted to reach new audiences by bringing popular PlayStation games to Windows. Another executive noted that releasing Horizon: Zero Dawn on Windows showed strong interest in expanding to more platforms. An investor report from 2021 stated that SIE wanted to grow its presence in PC gaming to reach markets like China, Russia, and India, where console gaming is less common. In June 2021, Sony acquired Nixxes, a studio that helped port PlayStation games to Windows, and confirmed its commitment to PC gaming. However, PlayStation consoles would remain the primary platform for most games.

Additional Windows releases included God of War (2018), Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered, Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves, Sackboy: A Big Adventure, and Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales (2022); Returnal, The Last of Us Part I, and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (2023); Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut, Horizon Forbidden West – Complete Edition, Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered, Until Dawn, Lego Horizon Adventures, and God of War Ragnarök (2024); and Marvel's Spider-Man 2 and The Last of Us Part II Remastered (2025).

In April 2021, Sony created a label called PlayStation PC to manage its Windows game releases. This label was later renamed PlayStation Publishing in June 2024. A 2022 investor report showed that sales of PlayStation games on Windows increased from $30 million in 2020 to $80 million in 2021, with an estimated $300 million in 2022. SIE planned to continue supporting PC versions of its games and expected PC sales to account for one-third of its revenue by 2025. However, in February 2026, SIE announced it would stop publishing single-player games for Windows after some recent releases underperformed. It would continue to distribute multiplayer and second-party games. A March 2026 report suggested that Sony had canceled plans to port new games like Ghost of Yōtei to Windows and would keep games like Saros and Marvel's Wolverine exclusive to PlayStation 5. This decision was reportedly due to concerns that PC releases might harm PlayStation console sales.

In 2016, SIE started a division called ForwardWorks to create mobile games in Japan. To expand to the West, SIE hired a former Apple Arcade content manager in 2020. In August 2022, SIE acquired Savage Game Studios, its first dedicated mobile game developer within PlayStation Studios. SIE expects mobile games to account for 20% of its revenue by 2025. However, in March 2026, SIE reduced its mobile game efforts, focusing instead on fewer, high-impact projects.

SIE also released games on other platforms. In 2021, the MLB: The Show sports series was released on Xbox and Nintendo consoles for the first time, alongside PlayStation versions. The Xbox versions were published by MLB Advanced Media, which also allowed the series to be available on Xbox Game Pass. In 2024, Lego Horizon Adventures was released on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Windows, making it the first SIE-published game on a Nintendo system. SIE partnered with Bandai Namco Entertainment to release remastered versions of PlayStation games on multiple platforms, including Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, and Windows. In 2025, Freedom Wars Remastered was released on Nintendo Switch and Windows, alongside PlayStation 4 and 5. Bandai Namco also published Patapon 1+2 Replay and developed Everybody's Golf: Hot Shots for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Windows. In August 2025, Helldivers 2 was released on Xbox Series X/S through PlayStation Publishing, marking the first time SIE directly distributed a game on an Xbox console.