Sony cancels last live service game in development as PS5 sales pass 100 million

No dollars for Fairgame$ (player.gg/Sony Interactive Entertainment) Sony’s live service era finally seems to be over, just as PS5 console sales reach a massive milestone. While the PlayStation 5 has undoubtedly been a success for Sony, this generation is certain to be remembered as the era of wasted potential. There have been notable first party games from Sony, like Returnal and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, but these have been few and far between, partially thanks to the company’s unrelenting pursuit of a live service hit. This has led to historic flops and a slew of cancelled projects, and now another live service corpse has been thrown onto the fire. Seemingly the last such game currently in development at a first-party Sony studio. As reported by Bloomberg, Fairgames (originally styled Fairgame$) has been cancelled by Sony. The heist shooter, developed by Haven Studios, was originally announced in 2023 and underwent various reworks over the years, with plans to re-reveal it under a new name. According to the report, Sony cancelled the shooter following ‘mixed’ feedback during a recent playtest. An email, sent by PlayStation executives Sean Decker and John Doyle to employees, reportedly read: ‘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. Want GTA 6 news? Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for the latest GTA 6 news, reviews of new games you should play and exclusive analysis of the biggest stories of the week. ‘Combined with challenging market conditions in the PVP shooter genre, we have made the difficult decision to cease development on the game.’ A spokesperson for PlayStation told the outlet there will be no job cuts at Haven Studios as a result of the cancellation. The studio will instead ‘shift its focus to collaborating with other development teams across PlayStation Studios, while also exploring new creative opportunities’. If you don’t count the MMO Horizon Steel Frontiers (developed by NCSoft), Fairgames is Sony’s last known live service project. The only other title is Horizon Hunters Gathering, but according to reports, that game is being overhauled to remove the live service elements, following negative feedback. Sony has released some live service titles to modest success, between Helldivers 2 (it’s most successful but made by an outside developer) and Marathon, but its commitment to the bit has caused far more damage in the grand scheme – both in wasted time and studio closures, such as Bluepoint and Dark Outlaw Games. The cancellation of Fairgames, while unfortunate for Haven, will hopefully spell the end of Sony’s live service attempts. The company appears to be backtracking a lot lately, between shutting down mobile games and ending PC ports, possibly in preparation for a clean slate with the PlayStation 6. Will GTA 6 contribute to a big PS5 sales boost? (Rockstar) While there’s not been many exclusive games to shout about during the PlayStation 5 generation, the console has still sold very well – in part because of the decreased competition from Xbox. In new figures from Sony, the PlayStation 5 has sold over 100 million units as of November 10, 2026. This is an increase of roughly 2.1 million units since September 30. While the PlayStation 5 is selling well, it isn’t matching the pace of Sony’s prior console. The PlayStation 4 hit the same 100 million milestone in June 2019, five years and seven months after it launched, whereas it’s taken the PlayStation 5 just under six years. There’s a chance the PlayStation 5 could overtake the PlayStation 4 in lifetime sales, but it might rely on a big push from GTA 6. PlayStation 4 lifetime sales are over 117 million, and with the PlayStation 6 expected in 2028, the PlayStation 5 could have longer on the market. Either way, it very likely won’t surpass lifetime sales of Sony’s best-selling console, the PlayStation 2, which shifted over 160 million units. A stunted generation (Sony Interactive Entertainment) Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. Arrow MORE: Thronefall PS5 review – the king of tower defence Arrow MORE: Fans shocked to discover GTA 6 is playable on Xbox One Arrow MORE: Zelda is fastest-selling Switch 2 game as GTA 6 boss praises remake GameCentral Get the latest GTA 6 news, reviews of new games you should play and exclusive analysis of the biggest stories of the week.