Almost six months ago, Microsoft staged a series of high-profile layoffs, affecting employees at Xbox-owned studios including King and ZeniMax. This led to several game cancellations, among them Everwild at Rare, the Perfect Dark reboot underway at The Initiative, and Project Blackbird, an MMO project by ZeniMax.
At the time, not much was known about Project Blackbird, other than its long development timeline (it was in development as of 2018). But now, via a new leak, we have our first look at what could have been had Project Blackbird continued.
The leaked footage, shared on social media by typically reliable eXtas1s insiders, was confirmed by Insider Gaming's Tom Henderson.
With a total length of two minutes, it depicts a futuristic cyberpunk-like world, complete with lots of neon. While it lacks gameplay, it does show off some character design, including some heavy suit soldiers. There's a strong sense of verticality, with shots going from the middle of the level down and back again, with each of these levels filled with different elements.
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Insider Gaming further noted that it is slated for release in 2028. It is still unclear why the game was canceled, especially after news of it impressed Microsoft employees.
A lot happened around the time of the cancellation of Project Blackbird
As mentioned above, following Blackbird's cancellation, a report noted that “CEO Phil Spencer loved the game so much that during a demo in March, Xbox Games Studios director Matt Booty had to rip the controller out of his hands because he was running late for a meeting.”
It was further said that one of the reasons for Blackbird's cancellation was to free up resources to allow for “strategic bets in other areas”, namely Fallout. Shortly after, those who remained at ZeniMax criticized Xbox and Microsoft management for their “inhumane” treatment of those who were laid off.
Later, in October, many of those who were laid off left to start their own studio, Sackbird, a self-funded venture. Recently, founder Matt Firor revealed that his sudden resignation was largely due to the cancellation of Blackbird.
“Project Blackbird was the game I've been waiting for my entire career, and its cancellation led to my resignation,” the LinkedIn post read in part. “My heart and thoughts are always with the team members involved, many of whom I've worked with for over 20 years, and they've all been the most dedicated and amazingly talented group of developers in the business.”
In the end, the footage wasn't much, but it was enough to see some of the vision that reportedly excited Microsoft.
- Released
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November 14, 2018
- ESRB
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M for Mature: Blood and Gore, drug references, intense violence, strong language, alcohol use
- Engine
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Creation
- Multiplayer
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Online multiplayer
- Cross-platform play
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no
