Jade Raymond (born 28 August 1975) is a Canadian video game creator, best known for helping create the ''

Assassin's Creed ''Assassin's Creed'' is an open-world, action-adventure, and stealth game franchise published by Ubisoft and developed mainly by its studio Ubisoft Montreal using the game engine Anvil and its more advanced derivatives. Created by Patrice D ...

'' and ''

Watch Dogs ''Watch Dogs'' (stylized as ''WATCH_DOGS'') is an action-adventure video game franchise published by Ubisoft, and developed primarily by its Montreal and Toronto studios using the Disrupt game engine. The series' eponymous first title was rel ...

'' franchises, and for building the

Ubisoft Toronto Ubisoft Toronto Inc. is a Canadian video game developer and a studio of Ubisoft based in Toronto. The studio was established under Jade Raymond in September 2010. Games developed by Ubisoft Toronto include '' Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blackl ...

and EA Motive Studios. On 16 March 2021, Raymond announced the founding of a new independent development team called Haven Studios, which was later acquired by

Sony Interactive Entertainment Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), formerly known as Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE), is a multinational video game industry, video game and digital entertainment company wholly owned by multinational conglomerate Sony. The SIE Group is ma ...

in July 2022, officially becoming a part of

PlayStation Studios PlayStation Studios (formerly SCE Worldwide Studios and SIE Worldwide Studios) is a Division (business), division of Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) that oversees the video game development at the studios owned by SIE. The division was est ...

Early life and career

Jade Raymond was born 28 August 1975 in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. She graduated from

St. George's School of Montreal St. George's School of Montreal is an independent school in Montreal, Quebec, Canada founded in 1930. It consists of two campuses: the elementary school campus in Westmount, Quebec, and the high school campus in Montreal just 15 minutes' walk fro ...

in 1992 and

Marianopolis College , mottoeng = "Under the Guidance of Mary" , established = 1908 , type = Private college , endowment = , director = Mr. Christian Corno , provost = E ...

in 1994. She received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree from

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

in 1998, where she majored in

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...

. Her first post-university job was as a programmer for Sony, where she eventually helped in the creation of

Sony Online Daybreak Game Company LLC is an American video game developer based in San Diego. The company was founded in December 1997 as Sony Online Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment, but was spun off to an independent investor i ...

's first Research and Development group. This led to

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the d ...

where she worked as a producer on ''

The Sims Online ''The Sims Online'', also known as ''EA-Land'', was a massively multiplayer online variation on Maxis' computer game ''The Sims''. It was published by Electronic Arts and released in December 2002 for Microsoft Windows. The game was sold in retai ...

''. From 2003–2004, Raymond joined the G4 program ''

The Electric Playground ''EP Daily'' (formerly ''The Electric Playground'') is a daily news television show that covers video games, movies, TV shows, comic books, collectibles and gadgets. Created and executive produced by host Victor Lucas, and his Vancouver, British ...

'' as a part-time correspondent, working with Victor Lucas,

Tommy Tallarico Tommy Tallarico (born Thomas Andrew Tallarico; February 18, 1968) is an American video game music composer, musician, sound designer, television personality, live show creative director and producer. He and his company, Tommy Tallarico Studios ...

and

Julie Stoffer Julie A. Stoffer is an American reality show personality, television host, and property manager. She is best known as a cast member on MTV's reality television series '' The Real World: New Orleans'', the ninth season of '' The Real World'' serie ...

. In 2004, she started working for

Ubisoft Montreal Ubisoft Divertissements Inc., doing business as Ubisoft Montreal, is a Canadian video game developer and a studio of Ubisoft based in Montreal. The studio was founded in April 1997 as part of Ubisoft's growth into worldwide markets, with sub ...

, where she led the creation of the first ''

'' game. Raymond went on to become executive producer on ''

Assassin's Creed II ''Assassin's Creed II'' is a 2009 action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft Montréal and published by Ubisoft. It is the second major installment in the ''Assassin's Creed'' series, and the sequel to 2007's '' Assassin's Creed''. The g ...

'', and was executive producer of new IP at Ubisoft Montreal, which included ''

'' and ''

The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot ''The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot'' was a free-to-play action role-playing video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal. The game combined castle building and dungeon crawling mechanics: each player built a castle filled with traps and monsters and th ...

''.

In January 2010, Raymond moved to Toronto to build a new studio for Ubisoft in the role of managing director. Raymond is also on the Board of Directors of

WIFTI Women in Film & Television International (WIFTI) is a global network of non-profit membership chapters. Established in 1997, it is dedicated to advancing professional development and achievement for women working in all areas of film, video, and ot ...

, an organization dedicated the advancement of women across film, television and screen-based industries. In July 2015, Raymond announced that she had joined Electronic Arts and formed

Motive Studios Motive Studio (also known as EA Motive and Motive) is a Canadian video game developer and studio of Electronic Arts (EA) based in Montreal. History Motive Studio was founded within Electronic Arts (EA) by Jade Raymond, a former Ubisoft exec ...

, based in Montreal. She was also to be in charge of

Visceral Games Visceral Games (formerly EA Redwood Shores) was an American video game developer studio owned by Electronic Arts. The studio is known for the ''Dead Space'' series. History EA Redwood Shores (1998–2009) In 1998, Electronic Arts (EA) moved fr ...

studio, located in California, where she worked with games designer and writer

Amy Hennig Amy Hennig (born August 19, 1964) is an American video game director and script writer, formerly for the video game company Naughty Dog. She began her work in the industry on the Nintendo Entertainment System, with her design debut on the Super ...

on ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...

'' games, and also developed new original IP. On January 9, 2018, Raymond was named to the Board of Directors for the

Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) is a non-profit organization of video game industry professionals. It organizes the annual Design Innovate Communicate Entertain summit, better known as D.I.C.E., which includes the presentation ...

. She left Motive Studios in October 2018, alluding to a "top secret project". In March 2019, Raymond announced that she had joined

Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...

as a vice president; during the 2019

Game Developers Conference The Game Developers Conference (GDC) is an annual conference for video game developers. The event includes an expo, networking events, and awards shows like the Game Developers Choice Awards and Independent Games Festival, and a variety of tutori ...

, Google affirmed that she would be heading Google's Studios, Stadia Games and Entertainment, to create exclusive content for Google's

Stadia Stadia may refer to: * One of the plurals of stadium, along with "stadiums" * The plural of stadion, an ancient Greek unit of distance, which equals to 600 Greek feet (''podes''). * Stadia (Caria), a town of ancient Caria, now in Turkey * Stadi ...

streaming service. In July 2018, Raymond was recognized for "her trailblazing endeavours across her 20-year career" with the Develop Vanguard Award. In October 2018, she received the Pioneer Award from the

Fun & Serious Game Festival Fun & Serious Game Festival is a video game festival that takes place, in Bilbao, Spain, from late November to the beginning of December since its foundation in 2011. Its main objective is to recognize the cultural importance of video games. To do ...

, recognizing her "contributions to the industry as a producer of games that are considered a turning point in the industry". Raymond was one of few video game executives named in the ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' 2018 and 2019 list of 500 most influential business leaders shaping the global entertainment industry. On February 1, 2021, Raymond announced her departure from Stadia Games and Entertainment, as well as Google, concurrent with Google's announcement of the wind down for their in-house Stadia Games and Entertainment development studio. She founded Haven Studios, a new independent development studio, on March 16, 2021, with

investing in the studio to create a new original IP for

PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...

. Almost a year later, on March 21, 2022, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced the acquisition of Haven Studios.

Games

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Raymond, Jade 1975 births Anglophone Quebec people Businesspeople from Montreal Canadian people of Australian descent Canadian television personalities Electronic Arts employees Google people Living people McGill University alumni PlayStation Studios Sony Interactive Entertainment people Television personalities from Montreal Ubisoft people Video game businesspeople Video game directors Video game producers Video game programmers Women video game designers Women video game programmers