Sony Santa Monica Studio head leaves Sony for Google Stadia

Sony Santa Monica's Shannon Studstill has left the studio for a new adventure with Google Stadia, the industry veteran revealed today. Studstill, who lead the Sony studio to greatness is set to lead Stadia's new Playa Vista studio which will focus on creating new exclusive games for the Google platform.

With games such feats as 2018's God of War, Studstill has quite the capable head on her shoulders and it will be interesting to see what heights can lead the new team over at Stadia to.

Google's Jade Raymond praised Studstill's capabilities in the press release regarding the hire, stating; "The new Playa Vista studio will focus on delivering exclusive games, using new gameplay mechanics, creative ways to play together and unique interaction models that we're just starting to explore. While we're not ready to share specific game plans yet, rest assured we are listening to what gamers want and adding our own Stadia twists to create new IP and experiences.

I've been a fan of Shannon's for a long time, and have admired her award-winning work leading Sony's Santa Monica Studio and the industry defining franchises like God of War that have won fans all over the world. She has an extensive background in product development and creative leadership, but most importantly, she's a visionary who, as the Studio Director, will lead and inspire the Playa Vista teams. We're thrilled to welcome her to the Stadia family!".

Santa Monica Studio's Cory Barlog also chimed in, letting fans know that he'd be nothing without Studstill and Yumi Yang, an industry veteran in her own right with 19 years at PlayStation under her belt who will be taking over as head of the Sony studio following Studstill's departure.