Sony Interactive Entertainment has announced that it has entered an agreement to acquire Haven Entertainment Studios, the company founded by Jade Raymond that will become the 18th studio to join the PlayStation Studios family.
Raymond, who was also the founder of Ubisoft Toronto and Motive Studios and one of the key figures behind Assassin’s Creed, began Haven Studios in 2021 with an investment from SIE. When Haven Studios was announced, Raymond shared that the team was looking to “create worlds where players can escape, have fun, express themselves, and find community.”
Furthermore, it was confirmed the project the team was working on would be a new IP that would be exclusive to PlayStation. This news just further cements their partnership.
“Joining PlayStation Studios provides Haven with the creative freedom and unparalleled support to focus on building the highest quality games,” said Jade Raymond, CEO & Founder, Haven Studios. “We’re excited to have the opportunity to collaborate with and learn from all of the exceptional PlayStation Studios teams. We intend to fully embrace the incredible capabilities of the PS5 to create new worlds that inspire players and allow them to connect in new ways.”
This new game is “a new live service experience for PlayStation built upon a systemic and evolving world focused on delivering freedom, thrill, and playfulness.” Raymond also previously revealed the game will feature social elements and user-generated content.
Haven Studios currently has over 60 employees and “the day-to-day operations post–acquisition will continue to be run by the management team at Haven Studios in close collaboration with PlayStation Studios’ leadership team.”
“Haven Studios is an emerging studio with an exceptional team of talent, and we’re delighted to welcome them into PlayStation as our first game development studio in Canada,” said Jim Ryan, President & CEO, Sony Interactive Entertainment. “The studio’s focus on creating an original AAA multiplayer game will not only flex the power of PlayStation 5 but will further expand upon the diverse catalog of gaming experiences that can only be found on PlayStation.”
“We’ve had the privilege of working closely with the team at Haven Studios over the past year and have been extremely impressed with its growth and progress on its first project,” said Hermen Hulst, Head of PlayStation Studios. “Jade has built a world-class team with the creative and technical prowess necessary to deliver on such an ambitious project. We value the studio’s dedication to building a player-first, collaborative game environment that can last for generations and are thrilled to have them officially become a part of PlayStation Studios.”
Prior to starting Haven Studios, Raymond was leading the now-shut down Stadia Games and Entertainment first-party studio.
This acquisition follows SIE’s announcement that it was acquiring Destiny developer Bungie for $3.6 billion and it is also in the wake of Microsoft’s intention to purchase Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. The terms of this latest deal were not disclosed due to contractual commitments.
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Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.
