PlayStation Studios Announces New Head of Mobile

Senior PlayStation Studios officer Olivier Courtemarche has just announced his new position as head of the organization’s mobile department. Courtemarche had been co-head of PlayStation Studios since the departure of former mobile boss Nicola Sebastiani in June 2023.

Prior to joining Sony Interactive Entertainment’s in-house game development group as Senior Director and Head of Mobile Product, Courtemarche worked for Electronic Arts, Disney, Meta, and Zynga. The McGill University alumnus has handled major properties outside the PlayStation umbrella, like Marvel and Star Wars, according to his LinkedIn profile.

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In a recent post on the social media platform, Courtemarche announced that he has now become the head of PlayStation Studios’ mobile department. Industry veterans such as Guerrilla Games Technical Art Director Arno Schmitz, Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria Game Director Jon-Paul Dumont, and Zynga Senior Vice President Andrew Ice congratulated Courtemarche on his new role. The announcement comes after Sony revealed the closure of two in-house teams, Firewalk Studios and Neon Koi, in late October. The former was behind the failed hero shooter Concord, while the latter, previously known as Savage Game Studios, had been working on an unannounced mobile action title.

Olivier Courtemarche is the New PlayStation Studios Mobile Department Head

SEI CEO and PlayStation Studios head Hermen Hulst said in a statement that the shutdowns were part of efforts to strengthen the Sony Business Group. The executive also noted Sony’s need to focus on “titles that are in line with PlayStation Studios’ pedigree and the potential to reach more players.” Upcoming first-party releases for the PlayStation 5, the winner of the current generation’s console war between Sony and Microsoft, according to sales data, include Ghost of Yotei by Sucker Punch Productions and Marvel’s Wolverine by Insomniac Games.

Several popular PlayStation Studios projects were released in 2024, such as Team Asobi’s Astro Bot, the critically acclaimed platformer that became a Game of the Year contender at The Game Awards 2024. The game was also nominated for Best Art Direction, Best Action/Adventure Game, Best Audio Design, Best Family Game, Best Game Direction, and Best Score and Music. A more recent first-party Sony title is Lego Horizon Adventures, a multi-platform action-adventure experience developed by Guerrilla Games and Studio Gobo that launched on November 14.

Aside from Courtemarche, one more high-ranking PlayStation Studios figure has also announced that they have taken on a new position at the company. Justin Kobiak, formerly the chief of licensing and developer partnerships for mobile, revealed on LinkedIn that he is now the head of the Mobile Development and Partnerships department. Kobiak’s previous stints were with Disney, EA, Konami, and Samsung, among many others.

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