PlayStation veteran Connie Booth, who joined PlayStation decades ago and is one of the company’s most important people, has left the company, a spokesperson for PlayStation confirmed. However, the nature of her exit remains a mystery amid a report that she was fired. The representative told Axios that Booth “helped drive the success PlayStation Studios is experiencing today” and that she helped foster an environment where a team’s creative vision “could fully flourish.”
“We’re thankful for Connie’s numerous contributions to the company and wish her the best in future endeavors,” the spokesperson said.
Booth has yet to comment on her exit from PlayStation, and the nature of her departure is unknown. Former PlayStation developer David Scott Jaffe, the creator of Twisted Metal and co-creator of God of War, was first to report on Booth’s exit from PlayStation. Citing sources within PlayStation, Jaffe reported that Booth was fired.
“She was fired. She was not let go. She didn’t retire. She didn’t quit. She was fired,” Jaffe said. He added that “apparently” she had no notice or advance warning. “It just kind of happened,” he said.
Jaffe went on to say that outgoing PlayStation boss Jim Ryan gave a mandate for PlayStation’s teams to make more games-as-a-service titles, which in turn reportedly upset a number of PlayStation developers. “All of this was somehow blamed on Connie,” Jaffe said. “The blame has fallen on Connie.”
GameSpot has contacted PlayStation in an attempt to get more details on this situation and specifically the nature of Booth’s exit.
Booth was most recently the SVP and head of internal production at PlayStation. Booth was inducted into The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences’ Hall of Fame in 2020, and was understood to be a champion of game developers.
Booth played a key role in producing some of PlayStation’s most iconic and beloved games, including Crash, Spyro, Jak & Daxter, Ratchet & Clank, Sly, Spider-Man, Resistance, Uncharted, Infamous, and The Last of Us.
Booth started at Sony Corporation of America in 1989 before moving to the gaming team at Sony Computer Entertainment in 1995 as a producer, where she oversaw the release of Naughty Dog’s Crash Bandicoot series. In 1998, Booth was promoted to director of product development before being promoted again to vice president of product development.
PlayStation is pressing ahead with a number of live-service games, with plans to release 12 live-service games by 2025. Or that was at least the plan at one point. Naughty Dog’s Last of Us multiplayer game was reportedly scaled back or potentially canceled.
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