Housemarque Co-Founder Ilari Kuittinen is leaving the PlayStation studio after 31 years, closing one of the longest chapters in Finnish game development. Kuittinen helped build Housemarque from a small independent team into the studio behind Resogun, Returnal and this year’s Saros.
His final day comes only months after Saros launched on PS5. The timing makes the departure feel like the end of one era for Housemarque, but this is not a sudden leadership crisis. The studio has already spent months preparing for what comes next.
Kuittinen Is Leaving After 31 Years at Housemarque
Kuittinen confirmed that August 31 is his final day at Housemarque.
He has spent 33 years working in games and 31 years at the studio he helped create with Harri Tikkanen in 1995. Before Housemarque, Kuittinen started Terramarque in 1993.
That means his career stretches across several generations of gaming.
Housemarque went from making much smaller games to becoming one of PlayStation’s most recognizable action studios. Kuittinen remained part of that journey through titles such as Supreme Snowboarding, Super Stardust HD, Resogun, Returnal and Saros.
He is now stepping away from the company rather than moving directly to another major game studio.
Saros Became His Final Housemarque Release
The timing makes Saros an important part of the story.
Housemarque released Saros on PS5 earlier this year as the next step in the gameplay style it built with Returnal. The game once again focused on fast action, difficult combat and the studio’s love of filling the screen with dangerous projectiles.
Kuittinen was still leading Housemarque while the project moved through development.
When Saros reached players, he described it as another evolution of the studio’s gameplay-first approach and thanked the teams across Sony Interactive Entertainment that helped make it possible.
Only a few months later, he is leaving the studio.
That makes Saros feel like more than Housemarque’s latest game. It is also the final major release from the studio during Kuittinen’s time there.
Platform: PS5
Housemarque Changed Completely During His Time There
The Housemarque of today looks very different from the company Kuittinen helped start in the 1990s.
For years, the studio became known for smaller arcade-inspired games. Super Stardust HD helped create a strong connection with PlayStation, while Resogun became one of the standout games around the PS4 launch.
Then came Returnal.
Returnal was a much bigger project than the games Housemarque had made before. It moved the studio deeper into cinematic third-person action while keeping the fast combat and difficult gameplay that fans already expected.
The gamble worked.
Returnal became one of Housemarque’s most important games and helped prove that the studio could handle much larger projects.
Sony then acquired Housemarque in 2021 and brought it into PlayStation Studios.
Sony Buying Housemarque Changed Its Future
The PlayStation acquisition was another major moment during Kuittinen’s leadership.
Housemarque had stayed independent for around 26 years before joining Sony. Kuittinen said at the time that becoming part of PlayStation Studios gave the company more stability and a chance to grow without losing the gameplay-focused identity it had built.
The relationship was already very strong before the deal.
Housemarque had worked with PlayStation across games including Super Stardust HD, Dead Nation, Resogun and Returnal. Sony buying the studio turned that long partnership into something permanent.
Saros became one of the biggest examples of what Housemarque could build with that support.
Now the person who helped guide the company through both its independent years and its move into PlayStation Studios is leaving.
Housemarque Already Has Its Next Leader
The important part is that Kuittinen’s exit was planned.
Sami “Haxu” Hakala officially became Housemarque’s new managing director on July 1, two months before Kuittinen’s final day.
Kuittinen stayed around through August to help Hakala and the rest of the leadership team during the transition.
That makes the situation very different from a studio suddenly losing its boss without warning.
Housemarque has already been operating under its new managing director while Kuittinen helped with the handover behind the scenes.
Kuittinen has also made it clear that he believes the studio’s future is in good hands.
For players, that means there is currently no reason to assume his departure will suddenly change Housemarque’s direction or affect whatever the studio builds next.
Kuittinen Is Taking a Break, Not Disappearing Forever
After more than three decades in the industry, Kuittinen plans to finally take some time away.
Starting in September, he wants to slow down rather than immediately begin another demanding project.
He does not sound ready to completely disappear from gaming, though.
Kuittinen says he still expects to attend industry events and award shows, and he may eventually move into mentoring or consulting.
So this looks more like the end of his daily role at Housemarque than a complete goodbye to the game industry.
After 33 continuous years, taking some time off is understandable.
Housemarque Is Entering a Very Different Era
Kuittinen leaves behind a studio that is almost unrecognizable compared with the one he helped create in 1995.
Housemarque survived decades as an independent developer, built a close relationship with PlayStation, reinvented itself with Returnal and eventually became part of Sony.
Saros then showed that Returnal was not a one-time experiment.
Housemarque is now a full PlayStation Studios developer capable of building large PS5 action games while keeping the fast, difficult combat that made its older games stand out.
That may be Kuittinen’s biggest legacy at the studio.
He is not leaving Housemarque while it tries to figure out what it wants to become.
He is leaving after helping it get there.
Now Housemarque has to prove that the identity it built across 31 years can continue without one of the people who started it.
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