Google announces new first-party game studio, led by Jade Raymond

Google is building its own in-house studio to make original games for its new streaming platform, Stadia. Named Stadia Games and Entertainment, the new studio will be led by Jade Raymond, the former Ubisoft and Electronic Arts executive.

Raymond said that Google’s first party will “reimagine the new generation of games” and “will also be working with external developers to make all of the bleeding-edge Google technology you’ve seen today available to partner studios big and small.”

Stadia Games and Entertainment will be comprised of multiple studios, Raymond said. The team will also work with external developers to bring their games to Stadia. Google’s currently announced game development partners include Ubisoft, id Software, and Q-Games.

Raymond did not announce any specific titles for Stadia, which is slated to be released in certain territories in 2019.

Prior to Google, Raymond previously worked at Ubisoft, where she served as executive producer and co-creator of the publisher’s Assassin’s Creed franchise, and later general manager of Ubisoft Toronto. Raymond then worked at Electronic Arts, where she oversaw EA’s Motive Studio, PopCap Studio, and Star Wars portfolio. She left EA in October 2018.

Raymond announced her move to Google last week. Raymond is part of a growing gaming team at Google, which includes Phil Harrison, formerly of PlayStation and Xbox, and Jack Buser, previously the director of PlayStation Now and PlayStation Home.