Market Insider By Frédéric Tomesco 1107 Views

Montreal video-games veteran Jade Raymond to head new independent studio Haven

A Montreal video-games veteran is back in business.

Former Google, Electronic Arts and Ubisoft executive Jade Raymond will lead the new game-development company known as Haven Entertainment Studios Inc., according to a statement issued Tuesday. Montreal-based Haven is working on an as-of-yet unidentified project for Sony’s PlayStation console.

“I’ve been making games for a long time — over 25 years now!” Raymond wrote Tuesday in a PlayStation blog post. “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!”

Sony Interactive Entertainment will invest in Haven and its first new game, Hermen Hulst, head of PlayStation Studios, was quoted as saying in the statement. Joining Raymond at the new studio is a “world-class team with over a decade of experience working together across multiple hugely popular games and franchises,” Haven said without elaborating.

“Launching an independent studio with the backing of Sony Interactive Entertainment gives us full freedom to push boundaries with the support of a publisher that deeply understands the creative process of making games and is known for exceptional quality and a player-first approach,” Raymond said in the statement.