Jade Raymond (born 28 August 1975) is a Canadian video game creator, best known for helping create the '' Assassin's Creed'' 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 in July 2022, officially becoming a part of

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

Early life and career

Jade Raymond was born 28 August 1975 in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

. 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 o ...

degree from

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...

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 practical disciplines (includi ...

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

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'' 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 Studio ...

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 '' Assassin's Creed'' 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''. Jade Raymond Feb 2012-cropped

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, 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, 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 f ...

studio, located in California, where she worked with games designer and writer Amy Hennig on '' Star Wars'' 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. 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 corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...

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 tuto ...

, Google affirmed that she would be heading Google's Studios, Stadia Games and Entertainment, to create exclusive content for Google's Stadia 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 Sony Interactive Entertainment investing in the studio to create a new original IP for PlayStation. 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