Irresponsible Leaders: Top Executives of Gaming Companies Who Leave Chaos in Their Wake

Last week, Jade Raymond left Haven Studios, which she herself founded several years ago. This is a great opportunity to discuss top executives in gaming companies who often leave behind, if not a scorched earth, then at least a heap of problems.

Pictured (left to right): Jade Raymond, Phil Harrison, John Riccitiello

Jade Raymond’s career is a classic example of how a talented individual performer may not always be a successful manager in the long run. We detailed her resume here. In brief: she progressed from being a programmer at Sony to producing the first two Assassin’s Creed titles and becoming a star in the gaming industry of the 2000s before transitioning into a top management role.

At Ubisoft, Raymond also built a development team from scratch in Toronto, which under her leadership grew to 350 people and was known for Splinter Cell: Blacklist, the last numbered entry of the series. However, her significant managerial successes ended there.

Since 2015, Raymond has moved from one high-ranking position to another in major gaming companies. Starting with EA Motive, each time it followed a similar pattern: she assembles a team → organizes processes → starts working on a new game/games → the project gets canceled or other problems arise → Raymond leaves her position.

Admittedly, she cannot be blamed for the failure of Google Stadia, where she was only responsible for internal studios. But, leaving aside her past achievements, it is hard to deny the obvious: not a single notable game has been released under her leadership in the last 10 years.

The situation with Haven Studios, founded by Raymond in 2021, only confirms this trend. She assembled a team to create an original IP for Sony, which then acquired the studio and planned to utilize its expertise, including for R&D in cloud technologies for its game services. However, in four years, all that was introduced to the public was a questionable CG trailer for the shooter Fairgame$, the future of which is uncertain after internal tests and Raymond's departure.

In the event of the project's failure and the hypothetical closure of Haven, it is usually the regular employees who suffer. Raymond herself will likely continue her career at another major company, taking the dollar sign from the old game's title as a golden parachute.