Jade Raymond could lead Google's gaming division

Google is gearing up its new gaming division, and the billion-dollar search giant may have tapped key talent to lead the platform.

Industry veteran Jade Raymond today announced she's joined Google as a vice president, and the timing is pretty interesting. "I'm excited to finally be able to share that I have joined Google as VP!" Raymond said on Twitter.

Given her strong background in gaming it's likely Raymond is helping lead Google's new fledgling gaming platform. Raymond's long list of achievements include producing games like The Sims Online, Assassin's Creed, Watch Dogs, and Splinter Cell, and founding EA's Motive studio. Following Visceral Games' closure and an internal executive shake-up, Raymond left EA Motive in October of last year.

Google is set to announce its gaming plans at GDC 2019 in a week's time, which could include a platform that combines new hardware, its Project Stream service, and an Xbox LIVE-style framework together in a cohesive ecosystem.

The company today teased this platform in a pre-GDC video that gives some loose hints about what to expect.