PlayStation Studios Experiences Major Leadership Change with Departure of Studio Head

Another key figure at a PlayStation studio is moving on. Ilari Kuittinen, co-founder and managing director of Housemarque, announced on X that today marks his final day with the company. In his message, Kuittinen revealed that this change has been planned for a while, with Sami “Haxu” Hakala set to take over as managing director starting July 1. After 33 years in the gaming industry and 31 years at Housemarque, Kuittinen is taking a break but intends to remain involved by attending trade shows and consulting.

In his farewell note, he reflected on their accomplishments:

· Pioneering Finnish game development on the global stage.

· Creating studio-defining titles—from Supreme Snowboarding, Super Stardust HD, and Resogun, to the AAA hit Returnal and their latest release, Saros.

· Evolving into a leading AAA developer while preserving their unique creative identity.

Housemarque, a Finnish studio, initially gained recognition for its fast-paced, arcade-style action games. It made a significant impact with 1999’s Supreme Snowboarding, which sold over a million copies. The partnership with Sony began in 2007 with Super Stardust HD, leading to collaborations on titles like Dead Nation and Resogun. While Housemarque’s games have generally received positive feedback, Kuittinen noted in a 2017 open letter that the “Arcade is dead,” indicating a shift in direction due to the underperformance of their arcade-style games.

In 2021, the studio released the highly praised roguelike action game Returnal, blending their signature high-speed gameplay with an expansive sci-fi narrative. Following the game’s success, Housemarque was acquired by Sony and integrated into PlayStation Studios.

Earlier this year, Housemarque launched Saros, which, according to Alinea Analytics, had a “slow” start with around 300,000 units sold. However, the studio downplayed these figures in an interview, recalling that Returnal also experienced slow sales at launch.

While it’s uncertain if there’s any connection between Saros’ performance and Kuittinen’s exit, he isn’t the only co-founder to depart from PlayStation Studios recently. Insomniac Games co-founder Ted Price stepped down in January 2025, and Sucker Punch co-founder Brian Fleming followed suit in December 2025. With PlayStation 5 sales stagnating due to price increases, Sony CEO Hiroki Totoki recently mentioned that the company’s current focus is on encouraging existing players to spend more, with game sales being a significant aspect of that strategy.

Sony has faced considerable backlash after announcing plans to cease production of physical discs by 2028. Many are understandably concerned about the implications for game ownership, especially as Sony is currently trying to establish in court that players do not own the digital games they purchase.