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Sony Cancels Fairgames After Years of Work on PS5 Live Service Shooter
Sony has cancelled *Fairgames*, a live service shooter for PS5 and PC that had been in development at Haven Studio for more than three years. The decision follows a recent test in which player feedback and retention fell short of the company’s targets, amid difficult conditions for player-versus-player shooters.
Haven will remain open and no staff will lose their jobs, but it will become a support team within PlayStation Studios. The game was announced at a PlayStation Showcase alongside *Concord* and *Helldivers 2*, but little was publicly shown afterwards. Its cancellation joins several other abandoned PlayStation live service projects, while *Concord* was taken offline two weeks after release.
In short
- Sony has cancelled Haven Studio’s *Fairgames*.
- A recent test showed mixed feedback and weak retention.
- Haven will remain open as a PlayStation support team.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Sony can argue that cancelling Fairgames is responsible stewardship: testing suggested players were not engaging or returning at the level needed for a live service, and launching despite that could waste further investment and disappoint players. Keeping Haven open and retaining its staff also limits the human cost while allowing the studio to support other projects.
The case against
Critics can argue that ending the project after more than three years, with little publicly shown, risks discarding substantial creative work before the game has had a fair chance to find an audience. Repeated cancellations may also raise questions about PlayStation’s live service strategy and make it harder for studios to build confidence in ambitious projects.
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