Games industry stalwart Jade Raymond, best known for her work on Ubisoft game franchises “Assassin’s Creed” and “Watch Dogs,” will be presented with the Andrew Yoon Legend Award on Jan. 22, the New York Game Critics announced on Wednesday.
The award will be presented during the upcoming 8th Annual New York Game Awards, which will be hosted by writers from the Daily Show with Trevor Noah. Tickets for the event are now available, or you could tune in to Twitch at 7:30 p.m. EST to watch it live.
Over the past two decades, Raymond worked on franchises including “The Sims,” “Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell,” “Mighty Quest for Epic Loot,” “Star Wars,” “Watch Dogs” and “Assassin’s Creed.” She most recently founded Montreal-based Motive Studios at Electronic Arts. She left the company last year.
Raymond was named to the Variety 500 list last year for her impact on the video game and entertainment industries.
“Jade has been a leading force to advance the medium of video games as an art form by pioneering new forms of gameplay, player agency and online games,” reads a statement from the New York Game Critics. “Perhaps even more importantly, she’s been on the vanguard of making the subject matter of games more thought provoking and relevant to our world. While the games Jade has helped create have been trailblazing, her contributions as an industry leader have been equally noteworthy: Jade has been a clear voice and important example in making the game business more inclusive. Serving on the board of directors of the AIAS dedicated to the advancement and recognition of the interactive arts as well as other boards such as WIFT, dedicated to the advancement of women in screen-based industries. Jade is a frequent speaker on the topic of diversity and inclusivity in entertainment.”
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Presented by the New York Videogame Critics Circle, the Legend Award recognizes individuals and organizations that have a made exceptional artistic achievements. Past recipients include Richard Garriott, Todd Howard, Rockstar Games, and Ralph Baer.
“We’re thrilled,” says Critics Circle president Harold Goldberg. “From her early days at Sony Online Entertainment to this very day, Jade really has had a game-changer of a career. It makes total sense that the first woman we honor with our Legend Award be Jade Raymond.”
The Andrew Yoon Legend Award is named in memory of founding member Andrew Yoon, who died in a swimming accident just before the release of his first card game “Divorce!” Yoon had previously written for publications including Joystiq and Shacknews.
