Fairgames' Jade Raymond Exits As Sony's Live Service Stumbles

Jade Raymond has departed from Haven Studios, the Sony-owned developer responsible for the upcoming online multiplayer shooter Fairgames. The game's reported delay following an external playtest deals another setback to PlayStation's live-service ambitions.

As reported by Bloomberg, Raymond exited the company she founded just weeks after an external test of Fairgames apparently yielded unsatisfactory results. Originally scheduled for a fall 2025 release, the game has now been pushed back to spring 2026.

Bloomberg described the situation as follows:

PlayStation leadership did not provide Haven employees with a reason for her departure. However, it occurred several weeks after an external evaluation of Haven's debut title, the online shooter Fairgames, according to sources familiar with the matter. Some developers at the studio expressed concerns over the game’s reception and development progress, said the individuals, who requested anonymity as they are not authorized to speak publicly.

Sony is continuing its support for Haven and Fairgames for the time being, with new co-studio heads Marie-Eve Danis and Pierre-François Sapinski now leading the team.

This development adds to the mounting challenges facing Sony's live-service strategy, which appears to be undergoing a significant reassessment. While Arrowhead's Helldivers 2 emerged as a breakout success—becoming the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game ever with 12 million copies sold in just 12 weeks—Sony's other live-service titles have either been canceled or experienced troubled launches.

Indeed, Sony's Concord stands as one of the most notable commercial failures in PlayStation history. The game remained online for only a few weeks before being taken down due to extremely low player engagement. Sony subsequently decided to discontinue the game entirely and close its development studio.

The failure of Concord followed Sony's earlier decision to cancel Naughty Dog's planned The Last of Us multiplayer project. Earlier this year, Sony reportedly canceled two unannounced live-service games—one being a God of War title in development at Bluepoint Games, and another in production at Bend Studio, known for Days Gone.

In February 2022, Sony announced its intention to launch more than 10 live-service games by March 2026, later clarifying that this initiative would deliver games across various genres to diverse audiences. The company invested heavily in studio acquisitions as part of this strategy, bringing Destiny developer Bungie, Jade Raymond's Haven Studios, and the now-defunct Firewalk Studios into its portfolio.

However, by 2023, Sony president Hiroki Totoki revealed the company was reevaluating the 12 live-service PlayStation games in development, committing to release only six of them by the end of the fiscal year 2025 (March 2026). Totoki indicated Sony was still determining release timelines for the remaining six titles, emphasizing that "We don't necessarily stick to specific titles, but for gamers, quality should be the highest priority."

Bungie continues to champion Sony's live-service efforts, with Destiny 2 ongoing and the in-development Marathon scheduled for a full launch later this year. Earlier this month, Sony announced a new PlayStation studio called teamLFG and teased its debut title, which is described as a live-service incubation project. Guerrilla Games' Horizon multiplayer title is also currently in development.