Playtest Tied to Project Espresso Points to Sony's Long-Silent Fairgames

A playtest being tracked under the name Project Espresso appears to be Fairgames, the PlayStation 5 and PC multiplayer heist shooter Sony announced in 2023, according to the two outlets that have reported on it. Polygon writes that Project Espresso looks to be Fairgames (s1). Kotaku, posting on Sept. 10, calls the same event a mystery playtest that could be for Fairgames and treats it as the first new look at the shooter in more than three years (s2).

Fairgames has been a known title since that 2023 announcement, but only barely. Kotaku describes the game as missing in action and notes that little about it has surfaced since the initial reveal, which is why a playtest is drawing coverage at all (s2). Polygon's report ties the project to Haven Studios, the PlayStation studio behind the game (s1). Kotaku frames the title as Sony's next live-service game, a label that places it in the publisher's multiplayer catalog (s2).

The new information is the test and the name attached to it. The codename Project Espresso belongs to this playtest round rather than to the original reveal, and the platforms named remain the PlayStation 5 and PC (s1, s2). Kotaku's framing of the event as a first look in more than three years sets the gap between the announcement and this material at more than three years (s2). Neither report includes a release date, a launch window, or a public beta schedule (s1, s2).

The identification is not confirmed. Polygon qualifies its phrasing by saying Project Espresso looks to be Fairgames, and Kotaku presents the connection as a possibility rather than a settled fact (s1, s2). Neither outlet reports an on-the-record statement from Sony or from Haven Studios confirming that the playtest is Fairgames, and neither describes an official announcement issued alongside the test (s1, s2).

What makes the test notable is the silence it breaks. Fairgames was announced in 2023, then largely dropped out of public view, so evidence that it is still being tested is the clearest indication to date that development continues (s2). A playtest is also the kind of step that typically precedes a wider public showing, though neither report states that a reveal is planned (s1, s2).

What is still unknown is timing. Neither outlet offers a date for the game, a release window, or a statement from the developer about what testers are seeing (s1, s2). Whether Project Espresso becomes a public name for Fairgames or remains an internal label attached to a test is also unresolved in both reports (s1, s2). Until Sony or Haven Studios confirms the link, the return of Fairgames rests on an identification that the outlets covering it have not been able to verify outright (s1, s2).

Both outlets stop short of stating that Fairgames has been seen. Polygon uses the phrase looks to be, Kotaku uses could be, and the distance between those words and a confirmation is the substance of the story so far (s1, s2).