Jade Raymond’s New Studio, Backed By PlayStation

The provocative part of my brain wants to make a joke along the lines of, “my, hasn’t she gotten around a bit,” while the common sense part yells: “the internet will claim you are sexist and trying to slut-shame.” Ignoring the referencing to the fact Jade Raymond, one of the standout female leaders in gaming, has in the last six years hopped from Ubisoft to EA, EA to Google Stadia, and now from Stadia following its collapse to PlayStation. Almost as if I am commenting on how sought after she is as a producer than simply the fact she’s a woman. As usual, send the hate mail to the usual address.

Announced yesterday, Raymond has started her own studio: Haven Studios. The co-creator and producer of Assassin’s Creed, along with many other storied credits behind her name, will be working with PlayStation as they announced in a blog post. They have invested in Raymond’s studio to create new IPs for the platform holder. Noting the troublesome 12-months we’ve experienced, Raymond spoke about being pushed into reflection as we face the pandemic, social injustice, and job elimination.

She goes on to express a love for games that I am sure anyone reading this would instantly agree and see similarities with. “As I took stock of my career over the last few years and started to think about what to do next,” Raymond says, “I came to a very simple conclusion: “I need to get back to what I love doing most, and do so in a way that gives our team the freedom to explore, inspire, and create.”

“[So] today I’m announcing Haven, an independent studio where many of the talented game developers I have worked with for years are coming together to do what we are most passionate about,” Raymond continues. Going on to state: “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.” Finally noting, “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.”

Raymond does go on to note that while the team does not have anything else significant to announce just yet, the team is working on an unannounced IP for Sony right now. With more details to come in the future, of course.