Former Elder Scrolls Online boss Matt Firor has finally discussed his sudden departure from Zenimax Online, confirming that Massive wave of Microsoft layoffs and layoffs, Blame it on his promising MMO, codenamed Project Blackbird.
In message published in Bluesky on January 1, Firor stated that he is “not directly involved” in any projects founded by former Zenimax Online members, although he “informally consults with some of them.” But I'm personally more interested in the answer to the second most common question he seemed to get: Why did he leave?
“The most obvious explanation is the correct one,” Firor wrote. “Project Blackbird is a game I've been waiting my entire career to make, and its cancellation led to my resignation. My heart and thoughts are always with the affected team members, many of whom I have worked with for over 20 years, and all of whom have been the most dedicated and amazingly talented group of developers in the industry.”
Firor left Zenimax July 2, 2025 after 18 years with the company. That same day, it was revealed for the first time that Project Blackbird, said to be a Destiny-style looter shooter, had been in the works since 2018. caught in the crossfire from Microsoftlayoffs that hit Xbox and its studios hard. Many other games like Everwild, who has been fighting with Rare for a long time, also received an ax.
Xbox boss Phil Spencer, a noted Destiny fan, he reportedly really enjoyed what he played in Blackbird that Matt Booty had to get an executive back on track because he couldn't turn off the controller during a meeting.
Of course, Microsoft punishing hundreds or thousands of people for making good or promising games is nothing new. The salt in the wound was that Spencer, in the midst of the bloodbath, claimed that “our platform, hardware and game roadmap have never looked stronger,” and that's only because “the success we see now is built on the difficult decisions we made earlier.”
What's next for Firor? He says, “I still haven't figured it out,” although he's not “sitting on the sidelines,” even if he “hasn't seriously thought about starting a new development studio.” For now, he has “made some investments in small teams that I know will play a big role in changing the industry in the future.”
Fellow Zenimax alumnus Rich Lambert said: he still wants to create a new game despite Blackbird's untimely death.
