Shehei Yoshida, former president of Sony Interactive Entertainment and current head of Sony’s Independent Developer Program, will receive a BAFTA fellowship on March 30.
The scholarship is the highest honor an awarding body can award, and past recipients include Hideo Kojima, Tom Shaffer and John Carmack.
According to the official press release, the award goes to Yoshida as “Indie Developer Champion.” It also speaks to his social media presence, corporate efforts, and his work cultivating and elevating indie games over the years.
“Throughout my career, I have had the privilege of working with extremely talented teams who have developed some of the best games in the business,” Yoshida wrote. “I always celebrate with these developers because their games have received critical acclaim – well-deserved awards – and it’s a huge honor for me to receive my own honor.”
Jane Millichip, CEO of BAFTA, said: “Shuhei Yoshida is a pioneer in the gaming community and is very deserving of a BAFTA Scholarship. His collaborative, supportive approach continues to drive the industry forward, using his platform to promote the voices and craft of others, and to support independent design divisions, studios and creatives. We look forward to recognizing his contributions to the competition at an awards ceremony on Thursday, March 30.”
There’s little to complain about, as Yushida’s legacy is star-studded and respected for good reason. Joined Sony back in 1986 and oversaw the release of Escape from the Apes, Dragoon Legends and Gran Turismo, among many other games, during his early career.
The ceremony will be broadcast live on the official BAFTA Twitch channel on March 31 from 6.50pm BST. We’ll definitely watch it live, shall we?
For more Sony articles, check out our article on 17 great games coming to PS Plus in March, as well as our recent review: PS5 Pro? Even if the rumors are true, I don’t care now.