Gabriel Stanford-ReisingerEarlier this month, Sony dropped the ball that they’ve acquired Haven Studios. Spearheaded by Ubisoft and EA veteran, Jade Raymond, the studio is in the process of an unannounced IP.
As mentioned by GamesIndustry, this acquisition is a bit different than PlayStation’s usual fanfare. With the likes of Housemarque, Naughty Dog, Insomniac Games, and the like, they usually enjoy a period to get to know the studios’ strengths. Even with the little that Bungie has offered to Sony, it’s still enough for them to know that they could benefit from having the studio as part of their roster.
Haven Studios, on the other hand, has very little in the public eye, with only the mention that they’re working on a game. That said, of course, Sony knows more about the inner-workings and what exactly they’re doing. Herman Hulst touched on the new studio factor, but felt their content was exciting and they wanted to deepen their relationship with the studio.
“You’re right, we could have just carried on in the capacity of them being an external development partner. But what Haven has created is so exciting for us, there was just a desire to deepen that relationship. We have been very impressed with how Haven is coming together.”
In terms of Haven’s part, Raymond places talent at the forefront of this acquisition.
“It’s testament to the talent, and the amazing relationships and trust we have between the team. A lot of these people have worked together over decades on many AAA games. We’ve created new IPs together. Many of them have gone on to work at different studios with me. That’s really a big leg up when you all know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. You know how to work together, and you have done this before.”
Currently, Haven is working on an unannounced IP.
