Key facts
- Sony cancelled Fairgames (aka Fairgame$), a live-service shooter for PS5 and PC, three years after its 2023 announcement, according to Bloomberg reporting on November 10, 2026.
- No Haven Studios employees are being laid off after the Fairgames cancellation; the studio remains open and will support other Sony Interactive Entertainment-owned studios as a support team within PlayStation Studios.
- Haven, founded in 2021 by Jade Raymond, former Assassin's Creed producer and former Google Stadia Games and Entertainment head, would have released Fairgames as its debut game; Sony acquired Haven in 2022.
- In 2022, Sony announced a plan to release at least 10 live-service games by 2026.
Sony cancelled Fairgames, a live-service shooter — a game that receives ongoing updates after launch — for PS5 and PC, on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, three years after the game was announced in 2023, according to Bloomberg reporting carried by multiple outlets.
No employees at Haven Studios are being laid off after the cancellation reported on November 10, 2026. The studio remains open and will operate as a support team within PlayStation Studios, assisting other studios owned by Sony Interactive Entertainment.
The cancellation comes amid a wider retreat from live-service games at Sony. Sony released Concord, which it described as its most notable live-service misfire, and shut it down permanently after just two weeks.
Sony shut down PlayStation studios London Studios, Firewalk Studios, and Bluepoint Games, all working on live-service games, in recent years. Sony also laid off most of Bungie’s Destiny team in June after Destiny 2 fell short of expectations with players. Before release, Sony cancelled a live-service God of War game and a multiplayer The Last of Us game. These closures join the June layoffs as reductions connected to Sony’s live-service strategy.
Haven, founded in 2021 by Jade Raymond, a former Assassin’s Creed producer and former head of Google Stadia Games and Entertainment, would have released Fairgames as its debut game. Sony acquired Haven in 2022. Studio departures, including Raymond’s, were among the only public updates about Fairgames after its 2023 reveal.
The game was reportedly reworked several times after its 2023 reveal, and nothing official about it surfaced publicly except studio departures. Only cinematics from the 2023 announcement trailer existed, though gameplay footage from a September playtest leaked online; if the footage was Fairgames, it marked the first gameplay seen.
Fairgames was a headline announcement at a PlayStation Showcase that promoted Sony’s live-service push alongside Concord and Helldivers 2. Rumors earlier in 2026 suggested it might return under the new name Break In around the summer games conferences, but the revival never materialized, so Fairgames will now never release.
Sony ended development after a recent playtest produced mixed player feedback and retention fell short of goals, according to an internal email from executives Sean Decker and John Doyle. Challenging conditions in the PVP, or player-versus-player, shooter market were also cited. The email noted strengths in operations, live operations readiness, and community engagement, but said the results and market conditions forced the decision to stop development.
IGN India identified a mysterious game called Project Espresso, resembling Fairgames, as the likely test referenced in that email. Project Espresso advertised private playtests with a gameplay trailer in September, but the tests did not appear fruitful.
Video Games Chronicle reported that internal playtests for Fairgames had drawn negative reactions as far back as 2025. The report was unsurprising given earlier reports of troubled development and current live-service market conditions.
An internal email distributed to PlayStation employees the week of the report confirmed that Fairgames performed poorly during pre-launch and private tests. The email followed cancellations of The Last of Us Online, Payback from Bungie, Sony Bend and Bluepoint titles, and Twisted Metal.
Sony’s live-service strategy has produced a mixed record. In 2022, Sony announced a plan to release at least 10 live-service games by 2026. Helldivers 2 and Gran Turismo 7 have been steady live-service hits for Sony, though the broader live-service push has mostly failed. Sony also delayed Horizon Hunters Gathering for a reboot because of negative player feedback, likening it to Fairgames.
PlayStation’s horizon includes one other major live-service game, 4:Loop, besides Helldivers 2. 4:Loop is from Bad Robot, JJ Abrams’ studio. Video Games Chronicle said Bungie is working to grow Marathon’s player base. That made it sensible for PlayStation to avoid adding another live-service game now.
Fans pushed back on PlayStation’s live-service pivot in the early 2020s because the company excels at single-player games, and revulsion toward titles like Fairgames grew after Concord bombed. Key developer departures also hurt the Fairgames project. Fan sentiment left Fairgames under scrutiny even though few details emerged publicly after its reveal.
As of its November 10, 2026 article, Video Games Chronicle reported that PlayStation had not publicly commented on claims that Fairgames was cancelled. VGC attributed the cancellation report to Bloomberg and an internal email rather than an official PlayStation statement.
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