Since the original PlayStation launched in 1994, the Tokyo-based Sony Computer Entertainment (now Sony Interactive Entertainment) established itself as a leader in gaming hardware. Sony hadn’t merely released one of the most popular game consoles of all time, but it also had its own in-house video game developer, Japan Studio, to churn out popular titles.

This is why the slew of announcements over the past few months that numerous experienced veterans are leaving the studio is especially surprising.

Sony's Japan Studio was founded in fall 1993 and debuted the following year with the role-playing game Crime Crackers for the original PlayStation's launch. It was hardly a landmark title, but throughout the 1990s and 2000s, the studio churned out an array of iconic games, including music title PaRappa the Rapper (1996), sports title Everybody's Golf (1997), platformer Ape Escape (1999) and more.