SCEA President and CEO Jack Tretton is stepping down

Sony has announced that Jack Tretton will step down from his role as President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America. His last day will be on March 31, 2014. Sony Network Entertainment International's Executive Vice President Shawn Laydon will assume the role on April 1, 2014.

"This is a result of a mutual agreement between Mr. Tretton and SCEA not to renew their contractual relationship," Sony said in a press release.

"Working at SCEA for the past 19 years has been the most rewarding experience of my career," Tretton said. "Although I will deeply miss the talented team at SCEA and the passion demonstrated every day by our fans, I'm very excited about starting the next chapter of my career. I want to thank the employees, partners and customers for their tireless commitment to the PlayStation brand and, of course, to our fans who have pushed us to new heights of innovation and entertainment over the past two decades. I leave PlayStation in a position of considerable strength and the future will only get brighter for PlayStation Nation."

Andrew House, SCE President and Group CEO, added: "I've worked with Jack for nearly two decades and I want to personally thank him for his leadership and the considerable contributions he's made to the SCEA business and PlayStation brand over the years. I wish him nothing but the best in his future endeavors. I also want to welcome Shawn to the Sony Computer Entertainment America team. I have the utmost confidence in Shawn's leadership capabilities, and his deep knowledge of the gaming industry and commitment to gamers, will help keep PlayStation at the forefront of entertainment and innovative gameplay."