What's next for Guerrilla, upcoming TV and film projects, and the guiding principles that drive PlayStation’s network of world-class game studios.
Just a few days ago, I caught up with Hermen Hulst, formerly the managing director of Guerrilla. In his first interview since becoming Head of Worldwide Studios, Hulst provides insight into his new role overseeing PlayStation’s international network of game developers and creators.
Our talk covers a lot of ground: from upcoming film and TV projects based on Uncharted and The Last of Us, to the upcoming PC port of Horizon: Zero Dawn, to what’s next for PlayStation’s international network of game studios.
Listen to our full interview here, or read on for some key excerpts, edited for brevity and clarity.
PlayStation.Blog: For years, you’ve been the head at Guerrilla, the studio behind Horizon Zero Dawn and the Killzone series. What have you been up to lately?
Hermen Hulst: First off, just let me say that it’s a great honor for me to lead such an incredibly talented team. Since I’ve been appointed as the Head of Worldwide Studios I’ve been spending some time at various studios, going around listening to teams. Obviously I knew a lot of people already [from my time at Guerrilla], but I’ve met a ton of new devs. And I’ve been trying to get a better understanding of how we can work even more closely than we already do.
I’m obviously involved in projects that I wasn’t before. I’m really pleased to see how well fans and press are responding to Dreams. It’s such an ambitious game.
PSB: There are PlayStation fans out there who have heard of Worldwide Studios, but they don’t know exactly what it is… How would you describe Worldwide Studios?
HH: I think I would define Worldwide Studios as probably the most global network of game creators that exists, or has ever existed. I mean, we’ve got studios across the world from Sucker Punch in Seattle to Media Molecule in Guildford to Polyphony Digital in Tokyo. It’s truly global.
And pretty much all of these teams started as independents. Typically they have their own identity, their own name, their own studio culture. But at the same time, they’re all very much part of this global network that is Worldwide Studios. So there you have it, in a nutshell.
PSB: Since you’ve come on board, have there been any changes at Worldwide Studios?
HH: I think Worldwide Studios is in a really good spot. We have been, and we are still, very much a quality-oriented group of developers. We’re storytellers, and we like to create new experiences.
And those are values that for a long time have been part of Worldwide Studios. And they’re going to continue to be part of Worldwide Studios. But we’re always looking to how we can improve things, how we work together, how we’re organized.
We’ve had a couple really great appointments of new leaders at the studios recently. You probably heard about Nicolas Doucet as the new head of Japan Studio… Alan Becker, who I’ve worked with for many, many years recently retired from Sony Interactive Entertainment. So Nick is a great appointment, he’s been creating innovative showcases for PlayStation since his early days at London Studios. He worked on EyeToy… he’s one of those guys who can tinker with hardware and bring innovation to the platform.
And Yumi Yang has been appointed as the new head of Santa Monica Studio. You know Yumi Yang, she’s been there from the beginning. She knows the people… she’s been such a vital part of establishing all these processes that have generated 20 years of great games coming out of Santa Monica.
She’s one of those people that gets creative talent. And I think the creatives love working for her because of that.
Actually, while we’re talking about Santa Monica Studio, I’d like to give a shoutout to Shannon Studstill, whom I’ve partnered with for many, many years. I’m really grateful for her, she left recently. And with her special brand of leadership fostering talent, she’s been so great at succession planning. And that’s exactly why we have Yumi there now, all set up.
PSB: From your perspective, what makes Worldwide Studios special? Can you chalk it up to the structure, people and talent… or is it the freedom that’s provided to these folks?
HH: I think all of those elements are crucial to it. What’s unique about Worldwide Studios is that everyone here loves making games with a lot of heart and soul. It’s never just a job. People at the studios are so connected to the titles that they make.
And I think what’s key here is Sony Interactive Entertainment’s commitment to giving creative teams time to realize their vision. It takes time to create these heartfelt experiences, to create innovative experiences. And Sony really gets that, so I’m very grateful for that.
I should also mention the PlayStation community. I think it’s one of our greatest strengths at Worldwide Studios and PlayStation at large. Increasingly, I see deeper connections between developers and the community.
PSB: You’ve been with the company for a long time, you know what goes into a hardware launch year. A lot of challenges and opportunities that studios face, including Worldwide Studios. What are the teams focused on right now?
HH: You know, these are the most exciting times when you develop on a console. We are super hard at work at the moment… and honestly, I can’t wait to talk to you in more detail about that.
Let me just say — we have some of our biggest exclusives on PlayStation 4, either having recently released like Dreams, or coming out very soon like MLB The Show on March 13 (editors’ note: early access date, with pre-order), The Last of Us Part II on May 29, we’ve got a really great new IP that I’m so psyched about, Ghost of Tsushima. So there’s a lot coming out on PS4 as well.
PSB: Is there anything you can tell us about your vision for the future of Worldwide Studios, whether it’s going into next generation or beyond?
HH: We’re very committed to dedicated hardware, as we were before. We’re gonna continue to do that. And we’re very committed to quality exclusives. And to strong narrative-driven, single-player games.
At the same time, we’re going to be very open to experimentation, to new ideas. Just trying things out to see what works. I think that’s also very much part of the DNA of Worldwide Studios.
PSB: Speaking of experimentation, there have been rumors of a Horizon Zero Dawn complete edition that might be coming to PC… can you confirm or deny that?
HH: Yes, I can confirm that Horizon Zero Dawn is coming to PC this summer…. There will be more information coming from Guerrilla, from the new studio directors [Michiel van der Leeuw, JB van Beek, and Angie Smets] pretty soon.
PSB: PlayStation is no stranger to publishing titles on the PC, but Horizon: Zero Dawn is one of the largest games to make that leap. Is there anything you would say to PlayStation fans? What does it mean for the future?
HH: Sure. I think it’s important that we stay open to new ideas of how to introduce more people to PlayStation, and show people maybe what they’ve been missing out on.
And to maybe put a few minds at ease, releasing one first-party AAA title to PC doesn’t necessarily mean that every game now will come to PC. In my mind, Horizon Zero Dawn was just a great fit in this particular instance. We don’t have plans for day and date [PC releases], and we remain 100% committed to dedicated hardware.
PSB: What do you think of Dreams?
HH: I think what Media Molecule pulled off is just pure wizardry. These guys are empowering players to make and share their own games. If you reflect on that… not only did they create a new engine, and not just an edit suite, but a digital content creation suite on top of it.
I’ve been speaking with a few graphic coders from other teams about Dreams, and it’s hard for them to even get their head around it… [they’re] puzzled about how Media Molecule pulled it off.
PSB: PlayStation Productions is out to expand the reach of PlayStation IP by bringing it to mediums like film and TV. There’s not a lot of info out there — can you tell us about the strategy?
HH: I would say the purpose of creating PlayStation Productions is to introduce our stories, characters, and worlds to new audiences while making content our fans will be proud of. The approach is to bring together film and TV directors, work with people who have a ton of respect and passion for our gaming IP.
We’ve got IP dating back for more than 25 years now, and we’ve been delighted to find quite a few PlayStation fans among these film and TV creators. What I’ve also come to understand is that our IP is perfectly suited to adapt to linear storytelling.
In a film and TV market, where IP and franchises are king, we’ve built up one of the most exciting IP libraries in entertainment…. I should mention that we are including the game makers in this expansion process. We want to ensure that we’re very authentic in that approach.
It’s really important that the game makers are a big part of it. We’re not just creating direct copies of our games, we’re really making an effort to adapt their stories to best fit that medium.
PSB: We know about the Uncharted film. What other projects are underway?
HH: We’re very excited. The Uncharted film starts shooting this month with Columbia Pictures. It’s got a great cast — Tom Holland, Mark Wahlberg, and recently announced Antonio Banderas. It’s going to be a really fun movie, [it] will help reach audiences who maybe haven’t heard of Uncharted before.
A big one recently announced — we’re partnering with HBO on a The Last of Us TV show. We’re so excited to be working with the award-winning team that brought you Chernobyl, with Craig Mazin co-writing the show with our very own Neil Druckmann from Naughty Dog.
There’s a lot more to come on PlayStation Productions, but that’s what I can tell you now.
There’s even more in the full interview! Hulst also shares how he broke into the gaming industry, whether he inverts his Y-axis, and what his 1994-era self would say if he could see 2017’s Horizon: Zero Dawn.
I love gaming on my PlayStation. I don’t enjoy playing on my computer. Doesn’t make me right or better, just my personal preference. I’m sure there are people that feel the opposite. If you’re dedicated to playing on a particular platform, no specific game is going to change that. Sure, there are many computer-only games I’ve missed, but that’s life – there isn’t enough time to play everything anyway – it’s not like my choices are lacking. I waited for the Divinity & Pillars of Eternity games (all 4) to be released on PS – my point being if you enjoy a specific platform, you’re not going to stop using it just because the game is available elsewhere.
Want more stuff from Helghan.
Fora Hermen Hulst
Out Hermen Hulst
So I shouldn’t bother with PS5? Since you’ve set this precedent maybe I should just go all in on PC and abandon Playstation as Im sure they’ll all come to Steam sooner or later
Sure you’ll make some money, but in the long run you’re just shooting yourself in the foot
#BringbackLayden
“Only On PlayStation” not worth anything anymore…
I should admit, upon first reading the first of what PS5 offers, it sounded promising, but rumors of other additional features, such as it having a voice-controlled virtual assistant, it kinda made me, and others, feel uncomfortable, but I really don’t want those kind of rumors true.
Lately, on a different note, big tech companies are seeking ways to degrade pure privacy into our lives, & it really forges the kinda path nobody really wants in their years. I think there should be more people that want to retain their privacy at all times; the right technology with no smart stuff intruding us secretly, no forms of A.I.s in our lives, no worries about privacy losses, etc., just everything as it was before key people started dabbling in certain methods that made others uncomfortable.
There’s boundaries we should establish, and we should adhere to them, no matter what. Our lives should be our own, because certain risks aren’t worth taking.
But of course, I feel like what some people about what Sony’s doing lately. Less of our favorites in the years made us question how their handling their IPs. Hope they’re not faltering on their fans.
When will people realize that the PS4 is basically a 2013 mid-end PC? It’s a closed hardware with optimized resource usage, custom interface, SO etc, but on the back-end it’s nothing but a PC. You got what you paid for.
Playstation what are you thinking releasing your AAA game on PC. I respected you and Nintendo for keeping your content exclusive, now i am reading that you going to release you AAA ip on PC. Come now. You already have PS Now on PC if they what to play that game there is that venue already. Why are you doing these to us your fan who entrusted in you and love to see on the Box “ONLY ON PLAYSTATION”. i mostly buy exclusives games and sometimes mutli-plats. I am looking forward to all your exclusive contents. I think i will just wait to see what is your next move.
Now, I for one don’t care for when you will release the specs. for the PS5 reason why is i dont really care what they are one you continue with the exclusive content. Right now, with your experiment with this AAA ip. I see you going into a dark black hole where your console will be like Xbox.
Sony need the ps+ subscriber,so they made bunch of exclusive games only available on playstation..now we pay for game ports for PC in that subscription. PC will get all dlc and the game for less, they don’t need to pay for ps+ either… The collector edition of HZD has a statment Only on Playstation, so lie basically.
We are disgusted, outraged and tremendously disappointed by the announcement of the HZD for PC !!!
Millions of people worldwide have been playing and purchasing Sony consoles since the first PlayStation because of their exclusive games. And for us who only play PS it doesn’t matter how long a game was released and how many units it sold. HZD will be the first to be no more “Exclusive to PlayStation, and then, what will be next, or next? ♂️
We will not believe you anymore Dona Sony, after that, what will be the next slap in the face that you will give to PlayStation Fans?
You chose a path of no return and will lose a lot with it.
Sony exclusives were always made on such a masterpiece level, allowing all resources and time necessary to make a top quality game, in order to compete with Xbox. And a surprisingly high quantity of these games have been released over the years. This is why I choose Playstation. The amazing exclusives. With Microsoft Xbox completely imploding, Sony knows that Xbox has no good games, and don’t feel the competition as strong right now.
And that is where this horrible move comes in. Releasing this exclusive, followed by others, to PC, is a greedy betrayal for a few extra million dollars profit. But let’s just be clear about something. PC players who have not bought a PS4 by now, will NEVER by one. They are against buying a console on principle. PS4 with 1TB harddrive and controller was $250 on black friday, as well as OVER A DOZEN amazing top level exclusives being $20 or less by now.
But PC players didn’t jump on that amazing deal because they are against buying a console ON PRINCIPLE. They would rather play league of legends and dota on a $2000 PC, than play God of War and Bloodborne and Last of Us and Uncharted and Persona and Horizon and Yakuza and Detroit and Ratchet and Clank and Infamous and Ghosts and countless other amazing games on Playstation. So, to be clear, PC players will NEVER buy a PS4 or a PS5. They will ONLY wait for the games to come to PC, or miss out on them. So just to be clear, this is NOT Sony “giving them a taste” to entice them into buying the console. This is ONLY to get a few million extra sales profit.
This is not acceptable to loyal Playstation customers. The early adopters who bought the console and games at full price on release made it a smashing success. We know that Playstation Plus is a PAYWALL to access the internet, and we put up with it anyway. I bought my wifi capable device, I pay my internet bill, and I bought the game whose publisher runs the servers. But I still have to pay Sony $60 per year to get past their internet paywall. We put up with this because of the amazing exclusives delivered consistently and delivered only to Playstation. PS+ must make a billion a year in pure profit yearly, easy, for Sony.
So, after buying exclusives for $60 and DLC for whatever price, now Sony is putting this exclusive FOLLOWED BY OTHERS onto Steam. And how will they advertise it? “Get the complete and best quality version of Horizon Zero Dawn on PC!” And what will the price be? Will it be less than $60?
Sony this is not acceptable. This is a move that will bring in a comparatively small amount of cash, compared to the 100 million console sales, plus exclusive sales, plus a percentage of ALL multiplats sold to those 100 million customers, plus tens of millions of PS+ subscriptions. You are doing this because you think that you can get away with it and that people will be angry but will not abandon Playstation. You need to rethink this move. Horizon on PC should be canceled immediately. All your future plans, spoken or unspoken, written or unwritten, to put other Playstation exclusives on PC, should be abandoned.
I love Playstation. I bought a PS3 for $600. It was an amazing machine and was worth the price. Your exclusives keep my passion for gaming alive. Don’t betray us in a calculated manner just because you think you can. Thank you.
:-)
이제 플스안산다
Well Done! It seems I won´t be paying for another Playstation console from now on. If Sony strategy was to kill PS5 launch sales they will be succeeding. I´m not buying the “PS Exclusive” label no more and no one should.
Exclusive content isn’t going away. Companies use exclusive content to promote their products and services. There are plenty of examples of this within the video game industry and outside it:
Nintendo games are only on their hardware
Microsoft games are only on Xbox and Windows
Netflix original shows are only on Netflix
Apple apps are only on their devices
Samsung apps are only on their devices
Amazon published books are only available on Amazon
Walmart products are only available at Walmart
Target products are only available at Target
Of course there are exceptions, such as Apple Music being available on Android, and Nintendo making games for mobile devices to promote their franchises; but the major content is still only on their hardware.
So no, exclusives are not dying as some people claim, far from it actually.
It could be worse, Sony could put their games on more platforms like Xbox, Nintendo, Mac, etc. A few games coming to PC isn’t the end of the world.
The only reason Mocrosoft games are on PC is because they make Windows, and they see Windows and Xbox as complimentary platforms. Plus Microsoft has been making Windows games far longer than Xbox, so it makes sense for them to return to the PC market.
Sony bringing games to PC doesn’t make sense because they don’t have a vested interest in PC like Microsoft does. They have PlayStation as a dedicated platform and need their exclusives to sell their hardware.
Yes, you’re correct. Windows is Microsoft’s territory, yet most who use it didn’t pay for it, and I doubt MS earns anything from Steam purchases…