Former ZeniMax Online Studios boss confirms Project Blackbird cancellation led to his resignation

Former ZeniMax Online Studios boss Matt Firor has confirmed that he chose to resign from the studio following Microsoft's cancellation of Project Blackbird, a third-person online looter-shooter that was in development at the company.

The details:

• Firor's departure was announced last summer amid the sweeping layoffs at Microsoft that resulted in thousands of job losses and multiple notable project cancellations. Caught in the situation was Project Blackbird, which Bloomberg reported was a shooter set in a sci-fi universe that had received positive feedback during internal reviews.
• In a new LinkedIn post, Firor explained his decision to leave Microsoft, revealing that the cancellation of the project was in fact the catalyst. "Project Blackbird was the game I had waited my entire career to create, and having it canceled led to my resignation,” he wrote. “My heart and thoughts are always with the impacted team members, many of whom I had worked 20+ years with, and all of whom were the most dedicated, amazingly talented group of developers in the industry."
• The veteran developer has not yet disclosed his future career plans but shared that he is currently advising on various projects and startups. Firor also confirmed that he is not involved in any of the new projects from former ZeniMax Online developers, including Sackbird Studios, a company founded by laid-off Project Blackbird team members.