New studio is founded by Jade Raymond and working on an unannounced new IP for PlayStation.
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.
I’ve been making games for a long time — over 25 years now! I’ve had the opportunity to lead the creation of two highly successful original IPs and build multiple teams and studios from the ground up. Some of these adventures have been more successful than I could have ever imagined, and others less so.
Several people have asked me recently: “After all of these experiences, do you still want to be in the games industry?” The answer is always an unwavering YES! The games industry is where I belong!
Whether it’s playing Settlers of Catan with my kids or Valheim with my team, games continue to bring me joy. They’re a way to relax, connect, and share experiences with people I care about. And the act of making games is, in many ways, even more fulfilling. Getting to bring together experts across so many different creative fields – from music composers, to concept artists, to programmers (yes! programmers are creative too!) into a perfectly synched orchestra that delivers new worlds for players to explore. For me, there is nothing more fulfilling or rewarding I can imagine doing.
As I took stock of my career over the last few years and started to think about what to do next, 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.
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!
Jade Raymond? The one who failed at Stadia just recently? Not a good fit for PlayStation.
You’re blaming Jade for Google’s failures and refusal to invest money? Get your facts straight and put the blame on the proper party.
She failed? Google just killed all their in-house developments. I would have left too.
That take is so bad it physically hurt reading it.
Stadia failed its users and failed its employees. What Jade and co are doing here is going back to their roots and doing things right on their terms.
This is a *BIG* get for playstation and their players.
I suppose it was Jade and Amy Hennig’s fault too when EA WASTED their lives for over 2 years working on trying to get a Star Wars game running on their garbage Frostbite engine before just killing the project then?
No its the one who failed at EA recently and her studio became a tech support studio for ReSpawn and Bioware before it was shuttered (Motive) . Oh wait it is the same one
You’re kidding, right?
No Jade Raymond, the one who made the massively successful game called Assassins Creed.
Jade Raymond didn’t failed Stadia. Phil Harrison failed Jade Raymond
You should expand your awareness Runik. EA dictated teams would use the broken Frostbite engine. Raymond or Hennigs’s decision. EA forced this on them so they had to wrestle with their overlord’s bad decisions. At the end of the day they still had to follow some ridiculous executive’s disastrous directives. They both exercised grace and dignity, took the public hit and left. Legoman is correct. This is a big deal for PlayStation.
Not Raymond or Hennigs’s decision to use Frostbite.
Comments like this are a good example of why we need a voting system.
We get it: woman bad.
Good on Sony for creating more World wide studios.
Especially in Montreal.
If Sony can hire talents from disgruntled Bethesda talented employees.
They may buy off studios, but they can’t force talent to stay.
Jade Raymond at Stadia was the equivalent of a Captain being sent into battle and when he gets to the enemy lines, his Commanding General pulls out all the support troops, tanks, and aircraft leaving the Captain alone with a squad of soldiers to win the entire battle.
Wow. You’re pretty immature. People can’t bounce back and pursue other opportunities? You never failed at anything in life? She is a human being just like you.
If Sony want to invest in her and back a new studio, what’s it to you that you get so mean-spirited about it? Some people just write off people way too easily.
I’m looking forward to seeing what this project is. Hope she succeeds, along with her team.
They hardly gave their devs 12 months to develop games…… Have you ever heard a game made in 12 months? If so, that is some news to me
She is going to be a good fit for playstation
Did you even read your post before you posted it? It’s people like you that make gamers look uneducated. Google Stadia itself failed on arrival. You expected Jade Raymond to save Google Stadia when Google couldn’t even do it? Dude take a break from the internet, that is the dumbest post I’ve seen in a long time.