Shuhei Yoshida on his BAFTA, breaking the rules, and opening PlayStation to more indies

gamesindustry.biz:

"The biggest moment for me was when Journey came out. The impact the game had on the people who played it, the emotional reaction that game created to almost console people who had lost love ones… By playing the game, you can reflect on the people you loved, their life and death."

Shuhei Yoshida, head of Sony Interactive Entertainment's Independent Developer Initiative, has been working with indie studios for decades. Yet, after all this time, it is still Thatgamecompany's seminal 2012 release that he feels had the most impact on his career and remains his favourite among all the games he has worked on.

"The fact that a small game from a small team took Game of the Year titles everywhere, not just AAA titles," he says. "It wasn't just best indie game, but the best game of the year. So I think Journey was the first of the bunch that started that trend, and I was so fortunate to be there supporting and helping the team to develop that game."

"I'd like to see the trend of supporting the diversity of creators and diversity of voices to continue"

GamesIndustry.biz is speaking to Yoshida ahead of his appearance at tonight's BAFTA video game awards, where he will become one of a few games industry pioneers to receive the Academy's top accolade, the Fellowship award. The honour is not just in recognition of his decades-long career – with 2023 marking his 30th year at PlayStation – but also his efforts championing independent developers.

For Yoshida, tonight will be a slightly odd experience.

"It's amazing, but I feel a bit strange," he says. "When I go to these events, I always go to celebrate the nominees and winners, whether it was first-party games from our own studios or nowadays the indie developers we work with. I'll