Jade Raymond has founded a new studio and is set to work on a brand new PlayStation IP, according to the PlayStation Blog.
The news follows Raymond’s departure from Google Stadia after the company closed down its in-house development studios. Now, the industry veteran is the founder and CEO of Haven Entertainment Studios, an indie development house that holds true to its name.
In a recent PlayStation Blog post, Raymond delved into her personal situation over the past year:
“It’s been a strange and difficult past 12 months. The pandemic, social injustice, and job elimination have impacted many of my closest friends, family, and co-workers. All of these factors, paired with an inability to see friends and family face-to-face, lulled me into a kind of self-reflective cocoon where I had to ask myself some tough questions about what really matters.”
Raymond’s decision to leave Stadia was disheartening, as the studio head’s talents were never fully realised at the company. Google’s decision to axe its in-house development has disrupted a lot of game’s industry careers, Raymond’s included. Thankfully, Jade’s inevitable conclusion was to make a studio of her own, as she explains in the post:
“And so today I’m announcing Haven, an independent studio where many of the talented game developers I have worked with for years (and love dearly!) are coming together to do what we are most passionate about. It’s time for us to refocus on GAMES in a place where we can practice our crafts without any barriers or impediments.
“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. 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.
“Together, we want to create games that are a haven for players, and we want to build a studio that is a haven for developers. So, while we don’t have many details to announce today, I want the PlayStation community to know that Haven Studios is already hard at work on an unannounced IP. We can’t wait to show you more!”
The studio is set to be Haven by name and by nature, so hopefully, it’ll provide secure jobs for games industry workers.
Haven is already at work on a new PlayStation IP and has secured funding from Sony Interactive Entertainment. It’ll be interesting to see what Haven is cooking up, especially since Jade Raymond didn’t get to spread her wings at Google Stadia.
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Featured Image Credit: Sony