Matt Firor, former head and founder of ZeniMax Online Studios, has for the first time commented in detail on the cancellation of the ambitious Project Blackbird, which the team had been working on for several years.
Firor, known as one of the key figures behind the launch and long-term support of The Elder Scrolls Online, left the studio shortly after Microsoft decided to shut down the game's development. According to him, these events are directly related.
In an interview with MinnMax, Firor noted that he considers the cancellation of Project Blackbird a missed opportunity for the entire Xbox ecosystem.
I'm proud of what the team was able to accomplish during that time. But overall, it's a missed opportunity – for me, for the studio, for Bethesda, and for Xbox. It could have been a fantastic game.
The project's development faced a number of challenges. In particular, the COVID-19 pandemic coincided with a key phase of team scaling, which significantly slowed down the process. At the same time, the project's budget remained high, which, according to Firor, ultimately played a decisive role.
He emphasized that the industry as a whole has become more cautious about large investments.
We always explained why the early expenses were so large. But at some point, it started to look like too big a bet. And the company had to hedge its risks.
Firor expressed particular regret for the development team, who unexpectedly lost their jobs.