Latest news with #JadeRaymond
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Days Gone Studio Hit With Mass Layoff After Live Service PlayStation Game Canceled
Days Gone maker Bend Studio has been hit by layoffs. Roughly a third of the first-party PlayStation team was cut following the recent cancelation of an unannounced live service project, but Sony confirmed the studio is working on a new project now and it remains 'confident in its future and creative direction.' 'Earlier this year, Bend Studio wrapped development on a live service concept. After careful consideration, we chose not to move forward with it,' a spokesperson for Sony confirmed to Kotaku in an email. 'As the team shifts focus to its next project, we've made strategic changes to better position the studio for long-term success. As part of this transition, a workforce reduction has taken place at the studio. This decision was not made lightly, and we are extremely grateful for the meaningful contributions of all those impacted. Bend Studio has been a valued part of PlayStation Studios for decades, and we remain confident in its future and creative direction.' About 40 developers at the Oregon-based studio were laid today, as first reported by Bloomberg. The project they were previously working on was canceled earlier this year amid a purge of some internal live service projects, including an online God of War spin-off at Bluepoint Games. 'Bend Studio laid off a bunch of people today,' senior animator Robert Morrison posted on X. 'I was a part of the layoffs. I did my best. Hopefully I can find a new team to join.' Best known for the Syphon Filter espionage games in the PS1 and PS2 eras, Bend Studio later moved on to developing handheld ports of first-party franchises like Resistance and Uncharted before eventually making 2019's open world zombie blockbuster Days Gone. The game didn't review as highly as some PlayStation exclusives but still sold well. While fans pined for a sequel, the studio hasn't released a game since. Days Gone received a PS5 version earlier this year but has otherwise laid dormant as Bend Studio reportedly worked on a new live service IP. Leaked images made it appear like the now canceled game was an online multiplayer loot shooter of sorts, though no official details about the project were ever shared publicly. The Bend Studio cuts are the latest self-inflicted wound of a PS5 generation live service pivot that's left Sony conspicuously short on big first-party blockbusters. Live service spin-offs of Twisted Metal and The Last of Us were also canceled, while Concord's launch went so poorly the company refunded the game and shutdown the studio behind it which had acquired just a couple years prior. Another upcoming online shooter, Fairgame$, was recently delayed according to Bloomberg after it received negative feedback from external testing. That studio's head, Jade Raymond, departed around the same time. Update 6/10/2025 5:06 p.m. ET: Added statement from Sony. . For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Metro
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
PS5 live service plans in trouble again as Fairgames delay rumoured
One of PlayStation's few remaining live service projects looks like it's in trouble, as the studio's founder departs amid concerns around its progress. Sony once had plans for 12 live service projects to be released by 2026, but many of them have either been cancelled or, like Concord, scrubbed from existence after a mere two weeks. Despite its failures in the area (the externally developed Helldivers 2 being the only exception), PlayStation still has several live service projects underway, driven by the potential profits from microtransactions which are a crucial part of PlayStation's overall income. One of these upcoming games is Fairgame$ from developer Haven Studios, which was originally announced back in May 2023. While we've heard nothing about the heist shooter since, reports suggest things aren't going well. The first concerning sign is the departure of Haven studio founder, Jade Raymond, who served as a producer in the early days of the Assassin's Creed franchise. In light of her exit, Haven Studios will now be led by new co-studio heads Marie-Eve Danis and François Sapinski. 'Jade Raymond has been an incredible partner and visionary force in founding Haven Studios,' a PlayStation spokesperson said in a statement. 'We are deeply grateful for her leadership and contributions, and we wish her all the best in her next chapter.' As reported by Bloomberg, no reason was given for Raymond's exit, but this comes several weeks after an 'external test' of Fairgame$. Following this test, it's claimed 'some developers at Haven were concerned about how the game was received and its progress'. According to the report, Fairgame$ was originally slated to come out in autumn 2025, but it has been delayed to spring next year – potentially in the firing line of GTA 6. However, this hasn't been officially announced by Sony. While it's unclear why it would have been potentially delayed, launching Fairgame$ later this year seems like a bizarre move considering Sony's next live service hopeful, Bungie's Marathon, is set to drop on September 23, 2025. More Trending Beyond Marathon, Sony's other remaining live service project is a rumoured Horizon multiplayer spin-off, which is reportedly set to release before 2027. So it's possible Fairgame$ might be awkwardly wedged between the two – if it isn't cancelled before then. While Sony has cancelled many live service games over the past few years, including The Last Of Us Online, the company has recently opened several studios clearly designed to chase this model. One of these, Dark Outlaw Games, is led by former Call Of Duty Zombies lead Jason Blundell, while another, named teamLFG, is working on a team-based action game. There's a chance we could see more from Fairgame$ over the coming weeks, if Sony holds its usual State Of Play presentation in May or June. Assuming it makes it as far as a public release, that is. Email gamecentral@ leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter, and sign-up to our newsletter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader's Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. MORE: Hideo Kojima put a secret stash of game ideas on a USB stick for when he dies MORE: Nintendo Switch 2 will overtake PS5 as 'primary partner' for third party games predict analysts MORE: The worst video game ever made is coming to PS5, Switch and Xbox this month
The Verge
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Verge
former Google Stadia exec
Jade Raymond has left PlayStation. Bloomberg has the story. Raymond, also a , had founded and led the PlayStation-owned Haven Studios, which has been working on a multiplayer heist game called Fairgames. According to Bloomberg's report, Fairgames had been scheduled for a fall 2025 release, but that has been pushed to spring 2026.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
PlayStation's Fairgame$ Reportedly Delayed As Studio Head Leaves
Sony's slate of live service PlayStation games continues to crack. The multiplayer heist shooter Fairgame$ has reportedly been delayed after concerns following an external test and the head of the first-party studio making it, Jade Raymond, has left the company. Bloomberg reports that the first-party PlayStation 5 game was originally aiming to come out in fall of 2025 but is now coming sometime in 2026. That delay is apparently the result of internal concerns about the game's development following outside testing. Fairgame$ is being made by Haven Studios, a Montreal-based team formed of ex-Google Stadia devs that Sony acquired in 2022. It was being run by Raymond, a veteran of Assassin's Creed and EA Motive. Not anymore. 'Jade Raymond has been an incredible partner and visionary force in founding Haven Studios,' a spokesperson for Sony told Bloomberg in a statement. 'We are deeply grateful for her leadership and contributions, and we wish her all the best in her next chapter.' Fairgame$ was revealed back in a 2023 PlayStation showcase with little detail about what the game would consist of. It was situated around class warfare and 'emergent sandbox gameplay,' with shades of Robin Hood meets Payday 2 if it were made by Ubisoft. The studio behind it was formed in 2021 shortly after Google shut down its internal development teams, previously led by Raymond, following the failure of its cloud gaming platform Stadia. Sony is sticking by Fairgame$ for now and has appointed Marie-Eve Danis and Pierre-François Sapinski as co-studio heads. But the console maker's once-ambitious live service strategy continues to look like a mess following the 2023 cancellation of The Last of Us Online and the unprecedented un-releasing of hero shooter Concord last year. Sony also canned an online God of War spin-off and a co-op shooter at Bend Studio earlier this year. . For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Bloomberg
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Bloomberg
PlayStation Executive Jade Raymond Leaves Studio She Founded
Jade Raymond, the founder and head of Sony Group Corp. 's game developer Haven Studios, has left the company. PlayStation leadership didn't give Haven staff a reason for her departure, but it came several weeks after an external test of Haven's first game, the online shooter Fairgames, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Some developers at Haven were concerned about how the game was received and its progress, said the people, who asked not to be identified because they aren't authorized to speak publicly.
