Jade Raymond starts independent studio Haven to develop new original IP for PlayStation
Jade Raymond is now creating an announced IP for PlayStation, with her new studio Haven. Sony, who invested in the team, has great faith in the famous producer and developer.
Jade Raymond shared the news on the PlayStation blog. She’s excited to “return to my roots,” but can’t disclose any details about the upcoming game yet.
Haven is based in Montreal and consists of many developers, with whom Raymond had already worked before. Together they will develop a brand new original IP, with the help of Sony.
“It’s time for us to refocus on GAMES in a place where we can practice our crafts without any barriers or impediments,” Raymond wrote. “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.”
She believes that SIE’s support will give her and the team full creative and financial freedom. PlayStation Worldwide Studios head Hermen Hulst is also excited to work with Raymond’s new studio. “We’re confident in and excited for the bright future of Haven Studios and its first project, currently in development,” he said, according to GamesIndustry.biz.
As for now, we know nothing about Haven’s debut game — neither its genre nor its estimated budget. However, PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan said last November that it costs more than $100 million to develop and launch a new AAA IP nowadays.
The last few years have been a rollercoaster for Jade Raymond. In 2015, she founded Motive studio within Electronic Arts, where she also worked on the now-cancelled Star Wars project with Visceral Games. Since 2019, Raymond had also been a vice-president at Google, where she was in charge of its internal development studios (before the company shut them down earlier this year).
However, Jade Raymond has an impressive portfolio in the game industry. She began her path as a developer at Sony, where she helped create the first R&D group for the company’s online division in the 90s. Raymond is also known as the producer of the first two Assassin’s Creed games, as well as the first Watch Dogs.
