Summary

  • Upcoming PlayStation live-service title Fairgames reportedly saw mixed reactions in closed playtesting.
  • Fairgames' gameplay loop is apparently a mix of Fortnite and The Division, with the playtest build described as "super clunky."
  • The founder of Fairgames developer Haven Studios left the team last week, further adding to the list of concerns surrounding the game.

It seems like PlayStation's upcoming live-service title Fairgames is not faring very well in closed playtesting, as per a recent report. Fairgames developer Haven Studios saw a major leadership shake-up just last week, and now, there are signs that the game itself could join the growing list of PlayStation's doomed live-service projects.

Revealed at the 2023 PlayStation Showcase, Fairgames is a live-service heist shooter in the works at Haven Studios, a team founded and formerly led by Assassin's Creed veteran Jade Raymond. Sony joined forces with Raymond in 2021 to help set up Haven Studios, and the team was eventually acquired by the gaming giant in 2022 to expand PlayStation's live-service portfolio. However, after Concord's historic failure last year, the pressure on Fairgames to perform well has increased greatly, and Haven might be buckling under the stress.

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No new footage or gameplay of Fairgames has been shown since its original debut, and on May 16, 2025, Jade Raymond exited Haven Studios, inciting more concerns surrounding internal confidence in the live-service title. While Sony affirmed that it remains committed to Haven and Fairgames, some new info from Last Stand Media's paywalled Sacred Symbols podcast (episode 360) spells out more worrisome news. Apparently, a pre-alpha version of Fairgames - dubbed Project Hearts - was quietly distributed to a small group of playtesters via PSN, and the feedback from this early test has been far from encouraging.

Fairgames is Ostensibly a "Super Clunky" Cross Between Extraction Shooters and Battle Royales

Described as a hybrid of Fortnite and The Division, Fairgames reportedly drops players into large urban maps in teams of three to four. The objective is to infiltrate vaults and steal from the wealthy, while rival teams attempt the same in real time - a gameplay loop that sits somewhere between an extraction shooter and a battle royale. Though the concept promises a stylized, Robin Hood-style experience, the playtesters described Fairgames' gameplay as "super clunky" and devoid of polish.

These alleged details about Fairgames don't quite paint an encouraging picture for the game, especially in light of Concord being one of the most high-profile flops in Sony's history and the numerous live-service project cancelations at PlayStation first-party studios like Naughty Dog, Bend Studio, Bluepoint Games, and more. On the other hand, it's worth noting that Project Hearts was a pre-alpha build of Fairgames, and Haven could have incorporated feedback and addressed the concerns. With a rumored internal launch window of 2026, only time will tell if Haven has been able to mature Fairgames into a commendable experience.

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Fairgames

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Third-Person Shooter
Action
Multiplayer
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Systems
PC-1 PlayStation-1
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Developer(s)
Haven Studios
Publisher(s)
Sony Interactive Entertainment
Multiplayer
Online Multiplayer
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Genre(s)
Third-Person Shooter, Action, Multiplayer