Sony has officially pulled the plug on Fairgames, the live-service heist shooter from PlayStation-owned Haven Studios. According to a new report from Bloomberg, the cancellation comes roughly three and a half years after the game was first announced.
Despite the project's end, Haven Studios is avoiding closures and layoffs. Instead, PlayStation plans to repurpose the team as a support studio to assist with other first-party projects.
Why PlayStation Pulled the Plug
The decision to end development reportedly followed a recent playtest that failed to hit internal targets. In a note reviewed by Bloomberg, executives Sean Decker and John Doyle explained that while the test showed "strong operational excellence, live ops readiness and community engagement," the actual "player feedback and retention results were mixed and fell short of the goals we had set."
Decker and Doyle also pointed to "challenging market conditions in the PVP shooter genre" as a key factor in ceasing development. That test was likely the same one spotted in September, when a mysterious title called Project Espresso—which closely resembled Fairgames—began recruiting for private playtests alongside a gameplay trailer.
A Troubled Road Since 2023
Even before its cancellation, Fairgames faced an uphill battle with players. After its 2023 reveal, the game drew skepticism from fans who felt PlayStation's early-2020s push into live-service titles strayed too far from its strength in blockbuster single-player games.
That skepticism only grew after Concord flopped, fueling further backlash toward upcoming projects like Fairgames. Behind the scenes, the game was also hit by internal struggles and the departures of key developers.
PlayStation's Shifting Live-Service Strategy
Fairgames now joins a growing list of setbacks for Sony's live-service ambitions. Beyond Concord's failure, PlayStation previously scrapped The Last of Us Online and an online God of War project, while Marathon has struggled since its launch.
Still, the initiative hasn't been without bright spots, most notably the major success of Helldivers 2. While Bungie's decision to revive Destiny 2 could also yield results, Sony increasingly appears to be stepping back from the live-service space. For now, the only major PlayStation live-service game left on the horizon is 4:Loop, an upcoming title from J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot.
Source: PlayStation Cancels Live-Service Heist Shooter, Fairgames
