He was previously made co-head of mobile alongside Kris Davis in June 2023, but has now taken on the role solo. The announcement came via an update from Courtemarche on LinkedIn (thanks, Mobilegamer.biz).
In addition, Justin Kubiak has been appointed head of mobile business development and partnerships.
PlayStation's mobile division has existed since at least 2021, and we've heard very little about its strategy or what's in the pipeline since. Nicola Sebastiani was previously leading the charge, but left in 2023, leading to Courtemarche and Davis being made co-heads.
Sony acquired Savage Game Studios in 2022, later rebranded to Neon Koi, which was sadly closed just last month. While multiple studios are supposedly working on mobile games, Neon Koi was Sony's only dedicated mobile studio, as far as we know.
Unfortunately, we know very little else about Sony's mobile gaming plans and strategy. It's been extremely quiet over the years, with nothing to show, save for staff changes or studio shutdowns. It begs the question — what is the plan? What's going on over there?
The latest we've heard on this subject is from Hermen Hulst, who, before announcing Neon Koi's closure (and its game being cancelled), said mobile "remains a priority growth area for the Studio Business", admitting they're in the "very early stage of [their] mobile efforts".
Hulst added they will be concentrating "on titles that are in-line with PlayStation Studios' pedigree and have the potential to reach more players globally".
Hopefully after all this staff shuffling, things will begin to improve, and maybe, just maybe, we'll see what PlayStation has been cooking up for our smartphones.
Are you interested in what Sony's cooking up for mobile? Tell us in the comments section below.
[source linkedin.com, via mobilegamer.biz]
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