Sony Cancels Fairgames After Mixed Playtest Results
PlayStation cancels its heist-themed live-service shooter after playtest feedback missed targets.
TL;DR
- Sony canceled Fairgames following mixed player feedback and retention in a recent playtest.
- Haven Studios avoids layoffs and will support other Sony teams instead.
- The move fits Sony’s pattern of scrapping multiple live-service projects.
Sony has canceled Fairgames, the heist-themed live-service shooter announced in 2023. The decision follows a recent playtest that showed mixed player feedback and retention below targets, along with tough conditions in the PVP shooter space.
Developer Haven Studios will avoid layoffs. The team will instead support other Sony studios. Haven was founded in 2021 by Jade Raymond and acquired by Sony in 2022; she has since left the studio.
The game had already gone through multiple reworks since its reveal. Executives Sean Decker and John Doyle noted in an internal email that results fell short of the goals they had set.
Part of a bigger pattern
Sony announced plans in 2022 to release at least ten live-service games by 2026. Some titles succeeded, like Helldivers 2, but many others were scrapped. These include a live-service God of War, a multiplayer The Last of Us project, and Concord, which launched then shut down quickly.
“player feedback and retention results were mixed and fell short of the goals we had set”
Related studio closures hit London Studio, Firewalk Studios, and Bluepoint Games. Most of the Destiny team at Bungie was also laid off earlier this year. A live-service Horizon spinoff was recently rebooted after negative feedback.
The Tea
Sony keeps trimming its live-service ambitions when tests show players aren’t sticking around. The market for these shooters looks crowded and unforgiving right now, and Fairgames is the latest reminder that big plans don’t always survive first contact with real players.
Sources
- Polygon.com: PlayStation Officially Cancels Live-service Shooter Fairgames
- The Verge: Sony cancels live-service shooter Fairgames
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