PlayStation has cancelled Fairgames, the PS5 and PC heist shooter that Haven Studios had been building since its reveal in 2023. The news came from Push Square, Kotaku and VGC, which all trace it to a Bloomberg report published on November 10, 2026. We read all three on the evening of November 10 (UTC). Haven Studios is not closing and there are no layoffs, according to a PlayStation statement given to Bloomberg.
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What PlayStation said about the Fairgames cancellation
The reporting rests on an internal email to PlayStation staff, which Bloomberg verified. Kotaku and VGC say it was written by PlayStation executives Sean Decker and John Doyle. The email points to a recent playtest of the game:
“While the test demonstrated strong operational excellence, live ops readiness and community engagement, player feedback and retention results were mixed and fell short of the goals we had set. Combined with challenging market conditions in the PVP shooter genre, we have made the difficult decision to cease development on the game.”
VGC notes that PlayStation had not publicly commented on its own channels at the time of writing, so the cancellation is so far known through this email and the statement given to Bloomberg, not a PlayStation Blog post.
A scene from the Fairgames reveal trailer, 2023. Image: Sony Interactive Entertainment / Haven Studios
What happens to Haven Studios
Here, the sources agree. Kotaku quotes the PlayStation statement as saying “the studio will shift its focus to collaborating with other development teams across PlayStation Studios, while also exploring new creative opportunities.” Push Square reports that a company spokesperson confirmed Haven will stay open and that nobody loses a job over the cancellation. The outlets do not say which projects Haven’s developers will move to, and neither do we.
| Item | What the reports say |
|---|---|
| Game | Fairgames, a competitive heist shooter for PS5 and PC |
| Status | Development cancelled |
| Reason given | Mixed player feedback and retention in a recent test, plus a tough PvP shooter market |
| Haven Studios | Stays open, no layoffs, works with other PlayStation Studios teams |
| Original source | Bloomberg, via an internal PlayStation email and a company statement |
A short history of Fairgames
PlayStation introduced the game, styled Fairgame$, on the PlayStation Blog on May 24, 2023. Haven creative director Mathieu Leduc called it the studio’s first new IP and described a competitive heist game in which players join an underground movement to rob the ultra-rich. The post said it was coming to PS5 and PC and promised more “as soon as we can.”
The heist fantasy Haven announced in 2023. Image: Sony Interactive Entertainment / Haven Studios
Kotaku adds that Haven was founded in 2021, that Sony acquired it in 2022, and that Jade Raymond, who led the project at the start, left Haven in 2025 while development continued. Push Square says nothing official about the game was made public after the reveal apart from studio departures.
What it means for PlayStation’s live-service plans
Fairgames joins a list of PlayStation live-service projects that did not reach players. Kotaku points to Concord, which was pulled from storefronts before its developer, Firewalk Studios, was shut down. Kotaku also notes that Sony still calls live-service games an important part of PlayStation’s future. The company’s one clear success from that showcase era is Helldivers 2, which Push Square says debuted at the same 2023 event. For a plain-language primer on the model, see our explainer on how live-service games work.
For players, the practical result is simple: there is no Fairgames release to look forward to, because the game never launched. For PlayStation, the cancellation ends one of its multiplayer bets and sends Haven’s team to other PlayStation Studios work. For more PlayStation platform news, see our report on the PlayStation Exclusive badge on PS5 store pages.
What’s next
PlayStation has not announced what Haven will work on next. We will update this post if the company publishes its own statement or names a new project for the studio.
Sources: Push Square, Kotaku, VGC, PlayStation Blog; all reporting Bloomberg’s story.
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Featured image: Sony Interactive Entertainment / Haven Studios
