Andrew House is no longer the boss of PlayStation, or Sony Interactive Entertainment if you want to put it poshly. He hands the reins to his deputy, John Kodera, but will remain as director and chairman until the end of the year and then, it seems, toddle off.

It's not clear where House will toddle off to, nor what he'll do next. In a statement he expressed a desire to pursue new challenges. "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," he said.

House has been with Sony for donkey's years, joining in 1990 and helping launch the very first PlayStation in 1995. But it wasn't until 2011 he stepped directly into our world, becoming PlayStation president as Kaz Hirai led Sony as a whole.

House's biggest contribution was launching the PlayStation 4, which is on course to hit 78m sales by financial year end (31st March 2018). It's been a runaway success and as a result he leaves his part of the business in rude health.

"When I passed the baton of leadership for Sony Computer Entertainment to Andrew House in 2011, I was confident that I was leaving the PlayStation business in the best possible hands," commented Kaz Hirai, "and so it has proved.

"Andy and I go back more than 20 years and spent much of this time together, dedicating ourselves to ensuring the success of the PlayStation business. I would like to thank Andy for his contribution over many years, and wish him every success in the future."

Added Andrew House: "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 [Kodera] and the team at SIE are world-class and I know the future of PlayStation is very bright."

This content is hosted on an external platform, which will only display it if you accept targeting cookies. Please enable cookies to view. Manage cookie settings Here is Andy, to use the lingo, being ever so pleased to announce that Hideo Kojima and his food pictures are coming to PlayStation.

John Kodera has been at Sony for an age as well, having joined in 1992. He worked a lot in the electronics and IT arms of the business before taking leadership of Sony Network Entertainment (includes PlayStation Network obviously) in 2013. He has been Andrew House's deputy since last year so he's no stranger to the role he's assuming.

"It's a great honor to take on the role of President and CEO, SIE, and I'm very grateful to Kaz and Andy for the trust and faith they have shown in me. I intend to build on the amazing progress Andy has made enhancing the PlayStation brand and expanding the game and network services business, and will strive to further strengthen the unique value proposition we are able to offer via the PlayStation platform," he said.