Fairgames Returns from the Shadows: Sony Launches Closed Test of Action Game Codenamed Project Espresso

A page for a closed playtest of an unannounced competitive PvPvE action game called Project Espresso for PlayStation 5 and PC has appeared on Player.gg, a platform dedicated to game testing. Based on its visual style, gameplay mechanics and data from industry insiders, the technical codename hides Fairgames — the long-suffering team-based heist action game from Sony-owned Haven Studios. Along with the launch of tester recruitment, the first footage of live gameplay in three years has surfaced online.

Heist mechanics, extraction and matching concepts

According to the description on the playtest page on Player.gg, the project is a session-based third-person action game. Several competing squads of mercenaries drop into guarded facilities, hack vaults, grab valuable cargo and try to reach extraction zones while fighting off AI-controlled armed guards and squads of other players.

That formula reproduces down to the smallest detail the concept of Fairgames announced in May 2023 on the official PlayStation blog.

As industry outlet Insider Gaming notes, the codename Project Espresso was used by the studio internally long before public registration opened. The matching list of target platforms also points to a link between the two projects — the release is planned simultaneously for PS5 and PC.

Jade Raymond’s departure and a possible rebrand to Break In

The game’s return to the open testing stage came after a protracted production crisis within the Haven Studios team.

In spring 2025, the studio was left by its founder Jade Raymond, whose departure was reported by Bloomberg. The resignation followed closed focus tests that drew a wave of criticism from players over the game’s rough technical state and derivative gameplay. After Raymond, game director Daniel Drapeau also left the company, and the project was sent into a large-scale overhaul.

An indirect sign of the reboot is a recent trademark filing: in May, Sony Interactive Entertainment secured rights to the Break In brand in the online video game category, and corresponding reserved pages appeared on social media.

Project Espresso — third-person PvPvE competitive action game where competing teams race to infiltrate high-security locations, steal valuable cargo & escape before their rivals

Playtest sign-up ↓ pic.twitter.com/xoWGXoh9Qf

— WhatGames (@whatgamesv1) September 10, 2026

The game still has no official release date. However, the launch of large-scale external testing proves that Sony did not shut the project down along with other service-based action games, but instead brought the concept to a working state ahead of a second full reveal.