Matt Firor, the former studio head and founder of ZeniMax Online Studios, has confirmed his resignation from the company as a direct result of the cancelation of the studio’s unannounced game, Project Blackbird.
In a LinkedIn post today, Firor reflected on the last year and confirmed his departure back in July, which had already been rumored after he stepped down from his leadership role last year. “Project Blackbird was the game I had waited my entire career to create, and having it canceled led to my resignation. 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.”
Firor also made clear he is not involved in any of the projects that have been started by former ZeniMax Online members who were laid off from the company around this time. He added that he is advising some of them “informally” and confirmed they were “in good hands.”
He concluded by stating that while he doesn’t know what he’ll do next, he’s currently both advising some projects and startups unofficially, as well as investing in some small teams. “But I have not yet seriously contemplated spinning up a new development studio.”
Project Blackbird was an unannounced MMORPG that was in development at ZeniMax Online Studios, but was canceled by Xbox in the summer of 2025 as a part of the layoff of hundreds of individuals at Xbox Game Studios, and thousands Microsoft-wide. Blackbird would have been a brand new, sci-fi IP that had been in development since 2018. In July, sources speaking to IGN told us that the project was going well and was about to move into full production with Xbox’s approval to scale up the team. Blackbird’s cancelation led to the layoffs of every member of the team.
Firor founded ZeniMax Online Studios under ZeniMax Media in 2007 after 10 years at Mythic Entertainment, where he was a founding employee. There, he oversaw the creation of The Elder Scrolls Online, which launched in 2014 and continues to be supported, with the most recent major expansion Gold Road releasing in January 2024. Firor was also in charge when parent company ZeniMax Media was acquired by Microsoft in 2021.
Following the cancelation of Blackbird, ZeniMax Online Studios remains in operation, continuing work on The Elder Scrolls Online under the leadership of Joseph Burba, a 13-year veteran of the studio.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to [email protected].
