ZeniMax Online Studios MMORPG code-named ‘Blackbird’ canceled amid Microsoft Gaming layoffs [Update: President Matt Firor steps down]

A new massively multiplayer online RPG project from The Elder Scrolls Online studio ZeniMax Online Studios has been canceled amid mass layoffs at Microsoft Gaming, according to a report by Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier.

The project, code-named “Blackbird,” was in development since 2018. It would have been ZeniMax Online Studios’ first brand-new release since The Elder Scrolls Online, which launched in 2014.

Update 1:35 p.m.: ZeniMax Online Studios president Matt Firor has announced that he will be leaving the studio after 18 years later in July. Here is the full message:

After more than 18 years leading ZeniMax Online Studios, I’ll be stepping away later this month. The studio and The Elder Scrolls Online will be in great hands under the direction of new studio head Jo Burba along with executive producer Susan Kath and game director Rich Lambert. Together, this leadership team has spearheaded many of [The Elder Scrolls Online]’s biggest ideas, and expansions and will continue to make this game something we’re all proud of. While I won’t be working on the game anymore, I will be cheering you on and adding to the thousands of hours I’ve already spent in-game. There are many more stories to be told, adventures to be had, and I know this amazing community will carry that shared legacy and success forwards.

Thank you.

—Matt