Sony's Live-Service Ambitions Take Another Blow As Fairgames' Creative Director Leaves Haven Studios Mid-Development

The destiny of PlayStation's upcoming live-service crippled Fairgames is erstwhile again nether scrutiny arsenic its originative director, Daniel Drapeau, has confirmed helium has near Haven Studios to articulation Warner Bros. Games Montreal.

It's the 2nd high-profile exit of the summer, with workplace laminitis Jade Raymond besides exiting backmost successful May, respective weeks aft an outer playtest reportedly met a lukewarm response.

"As of this week, I joined WB Games Montreal Inc. arsenic originative director," Drapeau announced successful a LinkedIn post. "I can't hold to commencement this fantastic escapade with each the large radical present astatine the studio. I besides privation to peculiarly convey Yves Lachance, Logan A. Lesage, and Bryan Theberge for their spot and enactment passim the process. Now, let's bash this!"

The quality follows a rocky clip for the game's development, and incorrect manufacture speculation surrounding its future. Last month, expert Michael Pachter wrongly claimed the crippled had been canceled, though was aboriginal forced to locomotion backmost his connection and admit helium had "no info connected the crippled astatine all."

Neither Haven nor Sony person commented publically connected Drapeau's departure.

Regardless, the quality volition hardly reconstruct assurance successful PlayStation's embattled unrecorded work ambitions. Sony announced plans successful February 2022 to motorboat much than 10 unrecorded work games by March 2026, aboriginal saying the propulsion would bring games of antithetic genres to antithetic audiences. It spent large connected workplace buyouts arsenic portion of the drive, bringing successful Destiny developer Bungie, the present shuttered Firewalk Studios, and, of course, Haven Studios.

Firewalk, you'll remember, was the workplace down Concord, 1 of the biggest disasters successful PlayStation history. Just a mates of weeks aft it launched to eye-wateringly debased subordinate numbers, Sony decided to termination the crippled wholly and soon thereafter unopen down its improvement studio.

The Concord flop came aft Sony had already canceled Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us multiplayer game. And earlier this year, Sony reportedly canceled 2 unannounced live-service games, 1 a God of War rubric successful improvement astatine Bluepoint, the different successful the works astatine Days Gone developer Bend.

On the flip side, Arrowhead’s Helldivers 2 has been a breakout hit, and became the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios crippled of each clip with 12 cardinal copies sold successful conscionable 12 weeks.

Fairgames — stylized arsenic Fairgame$ — is described arsenic "a competitory modern heist crippled wherever you squad up to interruption into exotic locations and bargain the cargo." The twist is that you not lone request to outsmart guards and information systems, but you besides request to vie against different teams, too. There's nary connection yet connected erstwhile it'll launch.

Vikki Blake is simply a newsman for IGN, arsenic good arsenic a critic, columnist, and advisor with 15+ years acquisition moving with immoderate of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's besides a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her astatine BlueSky.