You're probably asking yourself one of two questions; either "Is Fairgames still coming out?", or "What the heck is Fairgames"? I don't know whether you're pronouncing it with the stylized 'Fairgame$' dollar sign or not, but I can tell you that the answers are, respectively, "apparently, yeah", and "you've come to the right place for an answer". Little is known about the game but, ironically, in a way that tells us a lot.
There's no point trying to hide from it: on the surface, the signs for Fairgames are Not Good. Announced in 2023 via a CGI trailer that could have been lifted from a pitch presentation, nothing has been seen or heard of it since. No screenshots, no gameplay footage, no release date, no developer interviews; nothing. This year, two key figures from developer Haven Studio – founder Jade Raymond, and game director Daniel Drapeau – left the company. There are reports and rumours that responses to playtests have pushed back internal dates, not to mention it follows in the wake of PlayStation immediately pulling the plug on Concord, Marathon's indefinite delays, and the cancellations of other live service games and studio closures. Like I said, bad signs – but I still have hope for this.
Judging by that CGI trailer – which is all I have to go on, having not participated in any secret playtests – Fairgames is a heist game with an emphasis on action. We see a trio of fashionably dressed young people use a variety of gadgets and weaponry to breach high-tech security, and ultimately face off against two other trios of people (other heisters? Security guards with a dress code lax enough to allow ski masks and monkey cosplay?) on their way to the booty. Basically, Payday with more of a flourish and guaranteed gunfights.
Cleaning heist
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The thematic twist is that you're not just violent thieves looking for a big score, regardless of any civilians that might get in the way. You're specifically targeting billionaires, a very basic concept but one which I love. In addition to the fantastical concept of the ultra-rich facing some sort of consequences for hoarding immense wealth, it immediately opens up the possibility for inventive and unusual structures and security systems.
There's a big gap in the heist genre right now ripe for the fillin'. Payday 3, while far from a terrible game, proved to make enough missteps to rapidly push players back to the prequel (which is now almost old enough to watch Predator: Badlands at the cinema). And as much as I admire Ingame Studios' commitment to updating and expanding Crime Boss: Rockay City, every time I try going back to it, I find it a little too clunky and/or buggy to hold my interest for long.
Then there's a question which is horrible to ask, but cannot be avoided: why hasn't Fairgames been cancelled? Sony has cancelled multiple live service projects already (including some we never even got to see), and the sullen ghost of Concord and its astonishingly brief two-week life looms large.
We don't know why this is one of the few games to escape the cull, and that is a fascinating mystery. Sony is not shy about closing studios and making people redundant. Somebody somewhere must see potential in this, potential that the company has a dizzyingly deep money pit to draw from in order to allow it to bloom.
Videogame$
When live service works, it generates a stupendous amount of cash. When it doesn't, it generates a stupendous amount of crash and burn.
In a recent financial results presentation, Sony pointed its finger directly at Bungie and Destiny 2 when reporting hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of losses. In the same presentation, however, it was revealed that a staggering 40% or so of reported first-party game revenue came from live service. Sony execs may be heartless when it comes to layoffs, but they're not stupid. This is a stark illustration of what we all know: when live service works, it generates a stupendous amount of cash. When it doesn't, it generates a stupendous amount of crash and burn.
The success or failure of Fairgames will, I think, play a critical role in deciding Sony's final decision regarding its live service push; even more so than Marathon. The latter has had a great deal of media exposure, and is being made by one of the most famous developers in the world with over a decade of live service experience. The former is a new IP from a new developer, one in fact that has so far enjoyed effectively zero marketing. Once things ramp up, and the game is properly revealed and then launched, it will to a large extent be Sony's live service approach that determines whether it lives or dies. It's a gamble; one that we have every reason to believe Sony is putting a lot of time, money, and effort into.
On a human level, I hope for the success of Fairgames with all my heart, as we have seen far, far too many layoffs in this industry already in recent years. Selfishly, though? I want a new, good heist game – and this could be it! All signs point to the corporate behemoth that is Sony being determined to make it work, and if those kinds of resources can't lead Fairgames to success, then nothing can.
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