Electronic Arts taps Jade Raymond, formerly of Ubisoft, for Montreal studio

TORONTO – Video game giant Electronic Arts has tapped former Ubisoft Toronto head Jade Raymond to run a new game development studio in Montreal.

Raymond spent a decade at French developer Ubisoft, working in a leadership role on some of its most popular games including the Assassin’s Creed series and later serving as managing director of its Toronto studio.

Electronic Arts says Raymond will lead the creation of Motive Studios, which is developing a game in the Star Wars franchise.

The company says she will also oversee the California-based Visceral Games studio, known for its Dead Space series.

In 2013, Electronic Arts and Disney signed a multi-year licensing deal for video games based on Star Wars after Disney closed on its US$4 billion purchase of George Lucas’s LucasFilm.

Electronic Arts is one of the largest video game publishers in the world, posting revenue of US$4.5 billion in its 2015 fiscal year.