PlayStationLeadership. Digital transformation across console, web and mobile. Redesign of the PS5 UX experience.

Connecting millions of players through one experience.

PlayStation had grown into a connected ecosystem of games, entertainment, services, and devices spanning console, VR, desktop, and mobile. As each experience evolved, creating a seamless journey for players became increasingly complex.

The opportunity was to build a global design organization capable of thinking beyond individual products—strengthening the PlayStation 4 ecosystem while helping shape a more unified vision for the next generation of gaming.

Led during Gene Lee's tenure as VP, Global Head of UX Design at PlayStation, in collaboration with cross-functional teams. Work predates MAP.

PlayStation design team reviewing console interface layouts pinned across studio walls during a design critique

The challenge

One core. Dozens of connected experiences.

At the center sat the PS4. Around it: the store, video, music, Vue, Now, Plus, VR, the companion app, and the web — each with its own team, roadmap, and conventions.

The task was to connect these services so players could move between games, media, and devices without feeling the seams between them.

PlayStation ecosystem diagram — the PS4 core surrounded by connected products and services

PlayStation services across VR, 10-foot, console, desktop, and mobile surfaces

The PlayStation ecosystem — one core experience connected to services across every surface.

Building the organization

Great experiences start with a great team.

A world-class team

Focused design leadership, investment in the internal team, a prototyping culture, and growing user research.

A strong culture

Career paths and development, standardized infrastructure, fail-fast learning, and a stronger PlayStation design presence.

Design excellence

Design aligned to the product roadmap, user-centered practice, and balanced design ratios across teams.

Cross-functional team gathered in a workshop room lined with interface boards

Designers reviewing navigation and content concepts during a wall critique

Gene Lee trying a PlayStation VR headset

Critiques, shared rituals, and hands-on time with the hardware built one team across studios.

A shared design language

Seeing the inconsistency before fixing it.

An audit across PlayStation experiences surfaced how many ways the same problems were being solved. Those findings became the foundation for a shared design language product teams could build on.

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Patterns identified across PlayStation experiences

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Variations of those patterns in use

Audit findings — identified patterns and variations, not delivered components.

PS4 optimization

A better experience, across every screen.

Alongside the PS5 redesign, the team improved the PS4 ecosystem — rethinking the mobile app and the PlayStation Store experience.

Mobile

Profile

What’s New

Store experience

Redesigning e-commerce around browsing, discovery, and a richer product experience.

Redesign PS5

Connecting people through play.

“Whole organizations — not just designers — deliver great user experiences to market.”

The PS5 redesign aligned teams around one player experience, guided by four experience principles.

Fluid

Move between games, media, and devices without breaking stride.

Frictionless

Remove steps between a player and what they want to play.

Anticipatory

Surface the right content and actions before players go looking.

Authentic

Unmistakably PlayStation, in every interaction.

Concept architecture — four experience hubs: Continue, My PS, Discover, and Global Utility

PS5 redesign development concepts — aligning teams around a connected player experience.

Designing the PS5 experience

Simpler layers. Content first.

PS5 redesign concepts explored how a layered architecture and a content strand could put games and media front and center — quick access, deeper engagement, and discovery in one continuous flow.