After a series of failures at Google and EA, well-known producer and developer Jade Raymond announced the creation of an independent Haven studio. She will develop a new IP. Sony will finance the project.Jade Raymond told about this in the PlayStation blog.
Specific details about Haven’s debut project and its employees have not yet been reported.
It is known that the studio is located in Montreal. It includes many developers with whom Raymond worked previously. Together they will create an unannounced IP with the support of Sony.
It's time to focus on GAMES again in a place where we can develop our craft without barriers and restrictions. We want to create worlds where players can take a break from reality, have fun, find ways to express themselves and make friends. We want to put all our passion into projects. We want to give people something absolutely wonderful. Because we believe that games can make our lives much more joyful.
founder of Haven Entertainment Studios
Neither the genre nor the approximate budgets of the future game are yet known. However, in November last year, PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan noted that today it is necessary to spend over $ 100 million to launch and develop a new IP. This is if we talk about AAA projects.
According to Raymond, cooperation with SIE will give Haven complete freedom — both creative and financial. Herman Hulst, head of PlayStation Worldwide Studios, also believes in the new studio: “We are confident in the bright future of Haven Studios and its first project, which is currently in development.”
Jade Raymond started her career in the 90s as a programmer at Sony. There she helped create the first R&D group for the company’s online division. After that, Raymond worked as a producer of The Sims Online at Electronic Arts.
World fame came to her when she led the development of the first Assassin’s Creed as a producer. At Ubisoft, Raymond also helped launch the first Watch Dogs and worked on several other projects.
In recent years, she has not been particularly lucky with the development of new IP. In 2015, Raymond founded the Motive studio as part of EA and worked with Visceral Games on the subsequently canceled Star Wars game. In 2019, she became vice president of Google and headed the gaming division of Stadia. However, after the closure of the internal development studios, Raymond left the company.