As a leader in the games industry, Jade Raymond is no stranger to groundbreaking work. She’s led the teams that created franchises such as Assassin’s Creed and Watch Dogs. In March 2021, she formed Haven Studios, made up of some of the best and brightest game developers and industry veterans.

Now, in July 2022, just 16 months after its founding, Haven becomes the 18th addition to the PlayStation Studios lineup. We caught up with Jade to learn more about Haven and pick her brain about what’s next. 

——-   

Now that Haven is officially part of the PlayStation Studios family, what does this mean for the studio?  

Jade Raymond [JR]: The team is thrilled to officially join such an exceptional group of studios. Teams like Naughty Dog, Insomniac, Guerrilla, Sucker Punch, and Media Molecule have created some of our favorite games and it’s surreal to now be part of the same family. We are so grateful to be part of an organization that’s deeply committed to delivering the highest possible quality games. We now have the support we need to realize our own ambitions at Haven.

 

How many team members are at Haven now and are you still growing?  

JR: I’m excited to announce that we just passed 100 team members at Haven. We recently welcomed some exceptional cloud engineers to the team including Jalal El Mansouri who was technical architect on Rainbow Six Siege and was part of the team at Google leading the technical vision for cloud-based game development. Our goal is to keep our small studio vibe while continuing to add key talent.

We know you can’t say much, but how is the project coming along? 

JR: I’m happy to share that the game is already fun! We play every day and that keeps us inspired to push further.  Our current project will be Haven’s first game and our first new IP for PlayStation. We want to deliver the very best game we possibly can. The bar is high, but we have a great team and believe we can create something innovative that people will be excited to play.

You’ve led the creation of two highly successful original IP’s and built multiple teams and the studios from the ground up.  Any words of wisdom you can share with someone who wants to pursue a career in gaming?

JR: Follow your passion. If you take risks, follow your heart and persevere. That’s truly how you will find meaningful success.

What inspires and excites you about game development today? 

JR: What inspires me most is the way games are becoming places where people can meet up, express themselves and share exceptional experiences. We are social beings and I’m excited that games are enabling people to connect in ways they cannot in the real world.

——- 

Check out the latest from Haven Studios on how they are taking steps towards the future of cloud gaming and if you are interested in joining this pioneering and passionate team of game makers, explore some of their current open roles here.