In a day full of terrible news, the latest comes from Jason Schreier, who has reported that the long-in-development ‘Project Blackbird’ at Zenimax Online Studio (ZOS) has been canceled.
In a skeet today, Mr. Schreier said:
“BREAKING: The new MMORPG project from Zenimax Online Studios, maker of Elder Scrolls Online, has been canceled as part of the Xbox layoffs, sources tell Bloomberg News. The project, code-named Blackbird, had been in development since 2018. Still more news to come this morning.”
This is the latest in a day full of bad news, including over 9000 job layoffs at Microsoft and the reported cancellation of Everwild at Rare:
Further to the reporting from both Tom Warren over at The Verge and Jason Schrier over at Bloomberg regarding planned layoffs at Microsoft, it is now (sadly) official. Beyond the broader Microsoft business, the layoffs are also affecting multiple Xbox Game Studios, including within both Zenimax and ActivisionBlizzard.
In a new report from Jason Schrier at Bloomberg, new details are starting to emerge. Per the report, King, the mobile division that creates and publishes Candy Crush is apparently cutting 10% of its staff, equalling approximately 200 roles.
Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has shared an email to staff. Though it was shared to us independently, it’s also been posted via Windows Central and Insider Gaming. It reads as follows:
“Today we are sharing decisions that will impact colleagues across our organization. To position Gaming for enduring success and allow us to focus on strategic growth areas, we will end or decrease work in certain areas of the business and follow Microsoft’s lead in removing layers of management to increase agility and effectiveness. Out of respect for those impacted today, the specifics of today’s notifications and any organizational shifts will be shared by your team leaders in the coming days.
I recognize that these changes come at a time when we have more players, games, and gaming hours than ever before. Our platform, hardware, and game roadmap have never looked stronger. The success we’re seeing currently is based on tough decisions we’ve made previously.
We must make choices now for continued success in future years and a key part of that strategy is the discipline to prioritize the strongest opportunities. We will protect what is thriving and concentrate effort on areas with the greatest potential, while delivering on the expectations the company has for our business. This focused approach means we can deliver exceptional games and experiences for players for generations to come.
Prioritizing our opportunities is essential, but that does not lessen the significance of this moment. Simply put, we would not be where we are today without the time, energy, and creativity of those whose roles are impacted. These decisions are not a reflection of the talent, creativity, and dedication of the people involved. Our momentum is not accidental – it is the result of years of dedicated effort from our teams.
