PlayStation just lost the ex-Apple exec it hired to spearhead its mobile games push

There’s a big move at the helm of Sony’s mobile gaming department, with its VP boss Nicola Sebastiani stepping down to pursue “a new undisclosed opportunity.” Instead, heavyweights Meta and Kabam are stepping in as co-directors.

Sebastiani, who had about eight years of experience at Apple when they joined the big Sony umbrella in 2021 along with developer Savage Game Studios, was a key figure in Sony’s push to secure a future in the mobile gaming market. are reasons to leave, confirmed by Mobilegamer.bizit remains mysterious.

But with Sebastiani out of the gate, who are his replacements? The first is Olivier Courtemanche. Prior to this new role, he was a product manager at Meta, working specifically on their Horizon social platform as head of content. This meant bringing music, sports, and streaming experiences to Meta’s VR metaverse. Before that, he, too, worked a whopping six years at Zynga, most of that time as a product manager.

Jumping in as co-lead for Sony is Kris Davis. No, not the pianist. This Kris Davis had been working at PlayStation for just over a year as head of Mobile BD before moving into the new role of co-lead with Sebastiani’s departure. Prior to Sony, Davis was at Kabam for nearly eight years.

Kabam, for those unfamiliar with the mobile gaming space, are responsible for a number of popular mobile titles including Transformers: Forged to Fight, Marvel: Contest of Champions, Star Wars: Uprising, and many others. It’s been a pretty major developer in the mobile space for some time now.

So while Sebastiani is clearly leaving some big shoes to fill as they head towards startups, you’ve got a new pair with thick resumes capable of sticking both feet in a big shoe each. Together, they will need to try to establish PlayStation in the mobile space. At the moment, all the company really has is Remote Play, a feature that requires you to own a PlayStation console and allows you to stream select games to your mobile device. However, there isn’t much tailor-made for mobile platforms!

What do you think of this new leadership change in Sony’s mobile gaming division? Do you think the duo will do a good job and what about Sony’s plans for mobile? Let us know what you think below!