Nearly six months ago, Microsoft held a round of significant layoffs, hitting employee personnel at Xbox-owned studios, including King and ZeniMax. It led to several game cancellations, among them Everwild at Rare, the Perfect Dark reboot taking place at The Initiative and Project Blackbird, an MMO project from ZeniMax.
At the time, not much was known about Project Blackbird, aside from its lengthy development timeline (it had been in development since 2018). However, now via a new leak, we have our first look at what could’ve been had Project Blackbird continued onward.
The leaked footage, which was shared on social media by typically reliable insider eXtas1s, has been corroborated by Insider Gaming’s Tom Henderson.
Totaling two minutes in length, it depicts a futuristic, cyberpunk-like world, complete with loads of neon. Although it lacks gameplay, it does showcase some character design, including some heavily-suited soldiers. There’s a significant sense of verticality, with the footage going from the middle of the level, all the way to the bottom and then back up again, each of those levels filled with different elements.
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Insider Gaming further noted that it was due out in 2028. It’s still unclear why the game was canceled, particularly after reports of it impressing Microsoft personnel.
A Lot Has Happened In The Wake Of Project Blackbird’s Cancellation
As mentioned up top, in the wake of Blackbird’s cancellation, a report noted that “CEO Phil Spencer loved the game so much that, during a demo in March, Xbox Games Studios head Matt Booty had to grab the controller out of his hands, as he was getting them late for a meeting.”
It was further rumored that part of the reason for Blackbird’s cancellation was to free up resources in order to make “strategic bets in other areas,” namely Fallout. Shortly after, those remaining at ZeniMax criticized Xbox and Microsoft leadership for its “inhumane” treatment of those being let go.
Later, in October, many of those who’d been laid off went and formed their own studio, Sackbird, a self-funded venture. More recently, founder Matt Firor revealed his abrupt resignation was due, largely in part, to the cancellation of Blackbird.
“Project Blackbird was the game I had waited my entire career to create, and having it canceled led to my resignation,” a LinkedIn post read in part. “My heart and thoughts are always with the impacted team members, many of whom I worked 20+ years with, and all of whom were the most dedicated, amazingly talented group of developers in the industry.”
Ultimately, the footage wasn’t much, but it was enough to see some of the vision that allegedly had Microsoft excited.
- Released
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November 14, 2018
- ESRB
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M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol
- Engine
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Creation
- Multiplayer
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Online Multiplayer
- Cross-Platform Play
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no
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