After the mass closure of first-party development over at Google, a lot of talented developers were left to figure out their next step. Some developers stayed with Google, moving to other projects, others left the company. Today, it looks like we know at least what Jade Raymond has moved on to after the closure of Google’s internal studios and it is promising!
Speaking on the PlayStation Blog, Jade Raymond explained the weirdness she’s felt over the last 12 months (who can blame her).
“I’ve been making games for a long time — over 25 years now! I’ve had the opportunity to lead the creation of two highly successful original IPs and build multiple teams and studios from the ground up.” says Raymond. “Some of these adventures have been more successful than I could have ever imagined, and others less so.”
“Several people have asked me recently: “After all of these experiences, do you still want to be in the games industry?” The answer is always an unwavering YES! The games industry is where I belong!”
Speaking candidly, Raymond mentions how fulfilling working in the games industry is for her, “Getting to bring together experts across so many different creative fields – from music composers, to concept artists, to programmers (yes! programmers are creative too!) into a perfectly synched orchestra that delivers new worlds for players to explore.”
Who could blame someone for following their passions, even if it sometimes never leads to a project succeeding? Raymond has led some exceptional teams over her nearly three decades in the industry and some of those teams have delivered massive IPs we’ve all come to love.
Today, Jade Raymond is announcing the opening of Haven Studios, a new independent studio in Montreal. “We want to create worlds where players can escape, have fun, express themselves, and find community. We want to pour our passion into a project. We want to make something wondrous for people to experience,” mentions Raymond. “Because we believe in the power of games to bring joy to people’s lives. And Sony does, too. Their commitment to excellence is unmatched. It’s why I couldn’t be happier for their backing and support.”
Jade Raymond has worked on Assassin’s Creed as she was at Ubisoft from 2004 to 2010, she then left to open Ubisoft Toronto before departing and joining EA’s Motive studio. After that, she joined Google in 2019 before announced her departure in February 2021.
With Haven Studios, Raymond will lead a stable of developers as they work on an unannounced IP for PlayStation.
