Google Stadia Hires Sony Veteran for its Newest Game Studio

In a public statement released on 4th March, Jade Raymond, Head of Stadia Games and Entertainment, announced a new Playa Vista-based Stadia exclusive game studio to be lead by Shannon Studstill.

Formerly the leader of Sony's Santa Monica Studio, Studstill had crucial roles in the production of titles like the latest God of War, Unfinished Swan and Journey. She joins the growing number of industry veterans who have been lured away from their existing roles into new and exciting positions at Stadia: Jade Raymond and Julien Cuny of Ubisoft; Phil Harrison of Microsoft; as well as a small army of talent from every corner of the industry.

According to Raymond's statement, the California-based studio will work on "delivering exclusive games, using new gameplay mechanics, creative ways to play together and unique interaction models". As for specific game announcements, there's little to report: Google is keeping tight-lipped except to tease "Stadia Twists" to "New IP and experiences".

What does "Stadia Twists" mean? Your guess is as good as anyone else's. The platform hasn't made a compelling case for itself up to now, but this continued high-profile hiring at least suggests that Google has some fight left in it.