Jade Raymond Leaves Haven After Fairgames Tests Poorly – WGB

In shocking information, Sony has confirmed that Jade Raymond, founding father of first-party PlayStation studio Haven, has apparently left the corporate. Coincidentally, or maybe not, the studios upcoming title Fairgames is reported to have examined poorly simply weeks earlier than Raymond left.

Word of Raymond’s departure was broken by the prince of gaming journalism, Mr. Jason Schreier of Bloomberg. Sony issued a press release shortly after confirming the scenario.

“Jade Raymond has been an unimaginable accomplice and visionary power in founding Haven Studios,” PlayStation stated. “We’re deeply grateful for her management and contributions, and we want her all the perfect in her subsequent chapter.”

Marie-Eve Danis and Pierre-François Sapinski have been named as Haven’s new co-heads transferring ahead.

Haven was based in 2021 after Raymond left Google Stadia. Sony was revealed to be funding the workforce’s first mission, which was later revealed in 2023 to be a brand new live-service recreation titled Fairgames. Sony then purchased Haven in 2022 for an undisclosed worth.

In his article, Jason notes that whereas no particular motive was given for Raymond’s exit, Fairgames (which is outwardly dropping the $ on the finish of its identify) went by a spherical of exterior testing a number of weeks in the past. In response to Jason, some individuals with data of the scenario instructed him that some builders had been “involved with how the sport was acquired and its progress”.

It’s unclear whether or not this exterior check has something to do with Raymond’s determination to go away Haven and whether or not it was really her determination and never a mandate from Sony instantly.

Fairgames was reportedly going to launch this yr, however the Bloomberg article claims it has been pushed again till subsequent Spring.

Raymond is without doubt one of the trade’s most recognisable names, rising to prominence together with her producer function on the unique Murderer’s Creed after which engaged on a number of different entries within the collection. Different credit embody Managing Director on Far Cry 4, engaged on Star Wars: Battlefront 2 and her stint at Stadia. Arguably, although, Raymond hasn’t labored on something massive or really thrilling in a very long time. Fairgames was seemingly going to be her massive return, which is why it’s shocking that she has stepped away from the corporate she helped create with 5 different individuals.

So let’s speculate just a little. It could possibly be that beneath Sony’s purview, Fairgames is shaping up otherwise than Raymond had envisioned. Whereas she was CEO, Sony is the one with the cash and who in the end has full say on how Fairgames is made. That is the speculation that makes probably the most sense to me, personally, because it’s extremely uncommon to see a CEO step away from an organization they based and earlier than their first mission even will get launched.

It may be as a result of Sony’s push towards live-service and subsequent failures. Sony could be loopy to not a minimum of try to enter the live-service house, and has discovered success with Helldivers 2, however Concord was a massive disaster, and so they’ve already cancelled most of their other live-service projects. Certainly, Fairgames is without doubt one of the few remaining.