Canceled MMO by ESO Developer Was a Sci-Fi Shooter Inspired by Blade Runner

Microsoft just did something wild — they let go of a ton of people. Like, poof! Gone. Xbox Game Studios got hit hard, right down the middle. And if you haven’t heard, Zenimax Online Studios, the brains behind The Elder Scrolls Online, are licking their wounds too. One of their big projects, the MMO thing they were hyped about, code-named Blackbird, has been axed. Yup, gone. Crazy thing, this game was apparently gonna be a sci-fi noir thing, shooting stuff in third-person, with some nifty moves. And guess what? Just a few months back, it apparently knocked Microsoft’s head honcho Phil Spencer’s socks off.

Let’s see, who’s on this unfortunate list of cut projects? We’ve got Rare’s Everwild, the Perfect Dark reboot, some secret thing from Doom dude John Romero, and yeah, our pal Project Blackbird. When this news hit, details about Blackbird were sketchy at best. Gist was, Zenimax had been secretly toiling away on it for seven years, juggling it alongside ESO. New game, new engine. Got it?

Rumors and whispers made the rounds. They said this Blackbird thing was an MMO. Think sci-fi vibes. Now Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier throws his hat in the ring, confirming stuff and adding a sprinkle of new info. From what I gather, this could’ve ended up in our multiplayer hall of fame. Who knows?

Schreier spills the beans, calling Blackbird a third-person, online looter-shooter. Destiny-like, but not quite. A fresh franchise with that moody sci-fi noir feel, think Blade Runner-ish. And the movement? Think vertical. Double jumps, air-dashes, grappling hooks. Players would crisscross the city like acrobats on a sugar high.

Now, Schreier points out, Blackbird wasn’t a smooth sail from day one. It hit bumps — tech stuff, and ESO eating up the team’s attention. But then things picked up. Momentum built. They even had a shot at a 2028 launch. Word is, there was this jaw-dropping demo shown to the Microsoft execs in March. Eye candy galore, I guess.

And so, the buzz was through the roof. Those execs? Couldn’t stop praising it. Schreier even said Phil Spencer was so into it, Matt Booty practically had to pry a controller out of his hands to proceed with the meeting. Wild, right?

Yet, boom! Out of nowhere, Zenimax Online employees got blindsided. Blackbird, canceled. I mean, hearing what the game was shaping up to be? Stunning, if you ask me.

Now, looter shooters? They’ve got their issues. Microsoft’s probably sweating bullets about it. Destiny 2’s not the powerhouse it used to be, and newcomers like The First Descendant aren’t killing it either. To break into that field? You’d need something out of this world. And with 300 people on Blackbird’s team? Yeah, the shockwaves of this decision hit hard. Jobs lost, dreams shelved. Life’s kinda brutal sometimes, isn’t it?