PS5 Heist Shooter Fairgames Makes Surprising Return Under New Name

Three years after its initial reveal, PlayStation and Haven Studios’ heist shooter Fairgames (aka Fairgame$) has seemingly returned, according to a new playtest posted on Player.gg. The site will host a playtest for “an unannounced competitive action shooter” for PlayStation 5 and Windows PC under the codename Project Espresso, which bears a striking resemblance to Fairgames.

“Project Espresso is a third-person PvPvE competitive action game where competing teams race to infiltrate high-security locations, steal valuable cargo, and make it out before their rivals,” reads the playtest’s description on Player.gg. That sounds a lot like Fairgames, which a 2023 PlayStation Blog post described as “a thrilling competitive heist game where you join an underground movement to rob the ultra-rich and rebalance the scales.”

The trailer for Project Espresso also shares several similarities with what we’ve seen of Fairgames, like the look of its gold vault and characters. (A character wears a white ski mask in both the Project Espresso and Fairgames trailers, for example.) You can sign up to join the playtest now with a Player.gg account.

Polygon has reached out to Sony Interactive Entertainment to confirm the identity of Project Espresso and will update this story when the company responds.

Fairgames (or Project Espresso, Break In, or whatever the game’s final name is) will be the debut title from Haven Studios, which was founded in 2021 by former Assassin’s Creed producer and Google Stadia Games and Entertainment head Jade Raymond. The Montreal-based developer was acquired by Sony in 2022, and revealed its long-in-development project in 2023 at PlayStation Showcase. Raymond has since left the studio.

“Fairgame$ will give you an opportunity to break the rules as a modern-day Robin Hood, a thrill seeker, or just someone who wants to collect cool loot,” the game’s creative director Mathieu Leduc said when the game was announced. He added, “Fairgame$ came from a desire to create a new type of PvP game with emergent sandbox gameplay.”

Fairgames/Project Espresso is headed to PlayStation 5 and Windows PC. It does not have a release date at this time.