Google Hires PlayStation’s Former VR Expert Richard Marks

By Liz Lanier

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Google hired Richard Marks, formerly of Sony, who played a key part in the creation of PlayStation VR, according to a report from VentureBeat .

Marks, who worked as a senior research engineer on , PlayStation Move, and was head of ’s Magic Lab, will work for ’s Advanced Technology and Projects group (ATAP).

“ATAP is at the intersection of science and application where our goal is to solve significant problems and close the gap between what if and what is,” Google stated to VentureBeat. “We’re super excited about Richard joining the senior team and look forward to his contributions.”

Marks worked on various projects during his time at Sony, and helped develop the PlayStation VR headset, the PlayStation Eye camera, and the Move controller.

The hiring of Marks could be part of Google’s initiative to enter the gaming industry. The rumors of Yeti, the codename for Google’s games streaming service have been around since February. Yeti is reportedly planned to be a service for Google’s Chromecast, or perhaps even a Google gaming console is in the works. Google also held meetings with various game developers during E3 2018, which has led to speculation that it could be attempting to talk to developers about streaming their titles with Yeti.

Marks is just one gaming industry veteran hired by Google. The conglomerate also hired Phil Harrison, formerly of Xbox and PlayStation, in January. Harrison reportedly has invested in augmented reality and virtual reality firms, such as The Dream Reality, according to a report from Business Insider .