Competition between Sony and Microsoft is currently at an all-time high, with each studio recently making strides to control larger parts of the market: Sony recently acquired game developers Bungie, and Microsoft purchased Activision. It’s not surprising that Sony is taking further steps to beat out the competition by backing the independent Canadian game studio, Haven Studios. Co-founder and Studio Head Jade Raymond, known for her work on Assassin’s Creed and Watch Dogs, recently sat down with the Montreal-based publication Le Devoir to discuss the company’s upcoming game currently under development for the PS5 and PC.
Following the closure of Google’s Stadia development teams in February 2021, Haven Studios was born. Former Google Stadia developer Jade Raymond, along with four other co-founders and about 20 former Google employees founded the independent studio in the Quebec metropolis. Haven Studios prides itself on “having the latitude of an independent publisher and the means of a large studio,” with its funds predominantly coming from Sony. The creators of the PS5 requested that the independent developers submit three project ideas, with the company choosing what they believed to be the best one.
On the partnership with Sony, Raymond said, “They finally asked us to do two, or even three, but we decided to focus on a first title to start.” Haven Studios has likened the new game to Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege; it will be a “persistent and scalable online environment.” Co-founder and Senior Producer Paola Jouyaux said on the studio’s future title, “These environments are not just games, they are also social platforms for many players.” Haven Studios, which has tripled in size since its founding, wants to promote inclusion and caring with its future titles.
In an exciting statement about creating a game for the PS5, Raymond said, “Our ambition will be to push the console’s technical capabilities further.” With Paola Jouyaux adding, ” We will have the opportunity to work with people at Sony who are among the best in the world in their field. This will allow us to create games of the best quality.” While there has been no official announcement, Le Devoir reports that Haven Studios will soon reveal a collaboration with PS5 architect and industry legend Mark Cerny in order to ensure the developer’s new game truly takes full advantage of the next-gen console.
Raymond further said on her hopes for Haven Studios, “We have an ambitious vision, but we will adapt. But it’s the content that’s most important. We want to stay focused on the gaming experience and on what players are attracted to.”
