Priority for new Fallout leads to Zenimax’s MMO cancellation, says journalist

Recently Microsoft announced layoffs of about 9,000 employees, affecting several game teams, including Zenimax, with significant cuts.

In this middle, a new MMORPG, Codename Blackbird, developed by Zenimax Online Studios since 2018, has been canceled as part of the recent cuts from Microsoft/Xbox.

It was not informed to the public about the reason for the cancellation, but new information shared by the journalist and Insider Jez claims that it was to release resources for more Fallout Games.

According to rumors, Bethesda is focusing on the development of new Fallout franchise games, including a possible Fallout 3 remaster, as well as Fallout 5, which would be fully approved.

Fallout prioritization suggests that Bethesda is accelerating franchise -related projects, possibly with external development for new titles or remakes.

Blackbird was a third-person MMORPG with SCI-Fi Noir aesthetics, being quite similar with Destiny, and vertical motion mechanics such as double jump and more.

According to Jason Schreier, Blackbird received praise from Xbox executives, including Phil Spencer, but was abruptly canceled in July.

In addition to Blackbird, other games like Everwild (Rare) and Perfect Dark (Initiative) were also canceled during the same wave of layoffs.

Source: reset