The development of the MMORPG lasted about seven years, and the game's budget was estimated to reach $400 million, making it one of the most expensive developments in the history of the industry.
Information about the cost appeared in a LinkedIn profile. Game director at ZeniMax Online Studios, Ben Jones, mentioned experience working on projects of the level of "$400 million hits."
After analyzing his 25-year career, experts concluded that it was Blackbird, the only game of this scale he worked on. Perhaps this was the planned budget for the entire development, but the seven-year production cycle had certainly already consumed a significant portion of the funds.
The official reason for the project's closure was large-scale layoffs at Microsoft. However, according to insiders, the decision may have been related to the reallocation of resources, which could be directed to the development of Fallout 5.
