Sony’s live service PlayStation games are facing some bumps in the road as the multiplayer heist shooter Fairgame$ gets hit with delays and the departure of its studio head, Jade Raymond. The game, originally set to release in fall 2025, is now pushed back to 2026 due to concerns raised during external testing. Fairgame$ is being developed by Haven Studios, a team of former Google Stadia developers acquired by Sony in 2022. The studio was led by Raymond, known for her work on Assassin’s Creed and EA Motive, until she decided to part ways with the company.
The reveal of Fairgame$ during a 2023 PlayStation showcase left many gamers intrigued but with little information about the game’s actual gameplay. Described as a mix of class warfare and emergent sandbox elements, the game was compared to a blend of Robin Hood and Payday 2 with a Ubisoft twist. Haven Studios was formed in 2021 after Google shut down its internal development teams, previously overseen by Raymond, following the failure of Stadia. Despite the setbacks, Sony remains committed to Fairgame$, appointing Marie-Eve Danis and Pierre-François Sapinski as co-studio heads to steer the project forward.
Not really sure why this matters, but Sony’s live service strategy seems to be in a bit of a mess lately. The cancellation of The Last of Us Online in 2023 and the shelving of hero shooter Concord last year have left fans wondering about the direction of the company. Add to that the scrapped online God of War spin-off and co-op shooter at Bend Studio earlier this year, and it’s clear that Sony is facing some challenges in the live service space. Despite the hiccups, the gaming community will be watching closely to see how Fairgame$ fares under the new leadership at Haven Studios. Who knows, maybe this delay will give the developers the time they need to truly make the game shine.
