Sony Interactive Entertainment representative director and deputy president Masayasu Ito to retire

Masayasu Ito will resign as representative director and deputy president of Sony Interactive Entertainment on October 1, and current director and deputy president Lin Tao will replace Ito, the company announced.

Kiichiro Urata, the head of Japan Asia partner development and relations for Sony Interactive Entertainment, will also be appointed company director.

Ito oversaw hardware engineering and operations for Sony Interactive Entertainment, and played an integral role in the planning of various PlayStation hardware over the years, including PlayStation 5 and PlayStation VR. He has worked for Sony Interactive Entertainment since April 2008, and before that at Sony Corporation for nearly 11 years.

According to Bloomberg, which cited people familiar with the matter, Ito’s resignation is due to reaching retirement age, and he will simultaneously resign from Sony Group as a whole. (Update 1:23 a.m.: A Sony representative has confirmed to Bloomberg that Ito’s retirement is due to his age.)

(Update 9:32 a.m.: Bloomberg has updated its article with the following correction: Ito will remain at Sony Group, where he will work in the Mobility division.)