Sony cancels Fairgames at Haven Studios, says no layoffs will follow

Sony has canceled Fairgames, a live-service online extraction shooter built by Haven Studios, its Montreal subsidiary. According to Jason Schreier's Bloomberg report, no layoffs will follow the cancellation.

In a statement, Sony said the studio will move to collaborating with other development teams across PlayStation Studios, while also exploring new creative opportunities.

In an email to employees on Tuesday, executives Sean Decker and John Doyle said a recent playtest with thousands of players did not meet expectations. They said the test showed strong operational excellence, live ops readiness and community engagement, but that player feedback and retention were mixed and below the goals set. They also cited challenging market conditions in the PVP shooter genre as part of the decision to cease development.

80 Level reports that IGN noted the playtest likely refers to a mysterious game known as Project Espresso. That game is strongly reminiscent of Fairgames and held private playtests in September. There is little detail about those sessions, though they do not appear to have produced strong results.

Fairgames was announced in 2023. Sony delayed the game to 2026 in 2025. In April, sources familiar with a playtest of its pre-alpha version said it still couldn't "find the fun."