Microsoft canceled Project Blackbird, a sci-fi noir looter shooter MMO with vertical movement elements, last year during broader layoffs at ZeniMax Online Studios. [1]
ZeniMax Online founder Matt Firor resigned after the cancellation, ending a run at the studio that began in 2007. Firor called the loss of the game a missed opportunity for himself, ZeniMax, Bethesda and Xbox. [1]
He said the team had planned to build a new engine early so the game could support live-service updates at lower cost over time. Firor also said he left partly to send a message that he disagreed with the cancellation and because the project had personal meaning for him. [1]
Firor criticized what he described as a Microsoft corporate mindset, saying public companies often want numbers that rise reliably each year, while game development is unpredictable. He said that pressure can put studios in the crosshairs when their results are large but uneven. [1]
Firor said the cancellation was heartbreaking and that he believed Blackbird could have been a fantastic game, even if he understood the reasoning behind ending it. His resignation followed shortly after the project was cut in 2025. [1]
