Search engine giant Google has revealed Stadia Games and Entertainment, its first game studio. Headquartered in Montreal and headed up by Ubisoft veteran Jade Raymond, this will be Google’s first venture in developing its own software for the upcoming Google Stadia game streaming console.
“As a child, I spent countless hours playing video games with my sisters. They transported us to exciting new worlds and took us on captivating adventures,” began the Google blog post from Raymond. “I was also fortunate to live in Montréal, a city with an amazing gaming legacy, having launched dozens of studios, thousands of careers, and countless incredible games. Today I’m thrilled to announce our contribution to that heritage, with the creation of Google’s very first original games studio in Montréal.”
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Jade Raymond might not necessarily be a household name to some gamers, but you’re almost certainly familiar with some of the game’s she’s worked on as Producer or Executive Producer. Here’s a shortlist according to her Wikipedia page:
- The Sims Online
- Assassin’s Creed
- Assassin’s Creed II
- Assassin’s Creed: Bloodlines
- Tom Clancy’s Spinter Cell: Blacklist
- Watch Dogs
- The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot
That experience will be leveraged in her new role as VP and Head of Stadia Games and Entertainment. The new studio will be producing content exclusively for Google Stadia in “all your favorite genres,” although no specifics have been mentioned as of yet.
For the moment, it seems that Stadia Games and Entertainment is still ramping up its production staff—there are currently 20 job listings open for the new studio including positions for a Senior Design Artist, Senior Game Designer, and Creative Director. With a game streaming console on the way and now its own game development studio under its belt, Google seems poised to make a splash in the gaming world.
