Following Microsoft's mass layoffs, former Elder Scrolls Online and Blackbird devs form worker-owned studio

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Following Microsoft's mass layoffs earlier this year, a group of former ZeniMax developers have formed a worker-owned studio dubbed Sackbird. Made up of folks who worked on The Elder Scrolls Online and a cancelled MMO codenamed Blackbird, the studio have confirmed they're working on an unnamed original game that'll hit PC and consoles.

Zenimax's Blackbird project was one of numerous games cancelled as Microsoft laid of around 9,000 staff in July, with the ZeniMax Online Studios United union left fighting for the jobs of members affected. Bloomberg subsequently reported that Blackbird was a sci-fi noir-ish third-person shooter with looty bits and lots of vertical movement.

Read more

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Following Microsoft's mass layoffs earlier this year, a group of former ZeniMax developers have formed a worker-owned studio dubbed Sackbird. Made up of folks who worked on The Elder Scrolls Online and a cancelled MMO codenamed Blackbird, the studio have confirmed they're working on an unnamed original game that'll hit PC and consoles.

Zenimax's Blackbird project was one of numerous games cancelled as Microsoft laid of around 9,000 staff in July, with the ZeniMax Online Studios United union left fighting for the jobs of members affected. Bloomberg subsequently reported that Blackbird was a sci-fi noir-ish third-person shooter with looty bits and lots of vertical movement.

Read more

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Following Microsoft's mass layoffs earlier this year, a group of former ZeniMax developers have formed a worker-owned studio dubbed Sackbird. Made up of folks who worked on The Elder Scrolls Online and a cancelled MMO codenamed Blackbird, the studio have confirmed they're working on an unnamed original game that'll hit PC and consoles. Zenimax's Blackbird project was one of numerous games cancelled as Microsoft laid of around 9,000 staff in July, with the ZeniMax Online Studios United union left fighting for the jobs of members affected. Bloomberg subsequently reported that Blackbird was a sci-fi noir-ish third-person shooter with looty bits and lots of vertical movement. Read more

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9 October 2025, 1:14 pm

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https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/following-microsofts-mass-layoffs-former-elder-scrolls-online-and-blackbird-devs-form-worker-owned-studio

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Mark Warren

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id: 84553
uid: kH1A6
insdate: 2025-10-09 12:30:06
title: Following Microsoft's mass layoffs, former Elder Scrolls Online and Blackbird devs form worker-owned studio
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category: Rock Paper Shotgun
md5: 3f2e5507ca0627147b9ecf2429e7eb9e
link: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/following-microsofts-mass-layoffs-former-elder-scrolls-online-and-blackbird-devs-form-worker-owned-studio
image: https://assetsio.gnwcdn.com/microsoft-layoffs-ex-zenimax-devs-form-sackbird-studios-01.jpg?width=1920&height=1920&fit=bounds&quality=70&format=jpg&auto=webp
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description:

Following Microsoft's mass layoffs earlier this year, a group of former ZeniMax developers have formed a worker-owned studio dubbed Sackbird. Made up of folks who worked on The Elder Scrolls Online and a cancelled MMO codenamed Blackbird, the studio have confirmed they're working on an unnamed original game that'll hit PC and consoles.

Zenimax's Blackbird project was one of numerous games cancelled as Microsoft laid of around 9,000 staff in July, with the ZeniMax Online Studios United union left fighting for the jobs of members affected. Bloomberg subsequently reported that Blackbird was a sci-fi noir-ish third-person shooter with looty bits and lots of vertical movement.

Read more


content_html:

Following Microsoft's mass layoffs earlier this year, a group of former ZeniMax developers have formed a worker-owned studio dubbed Sackbird. Made up of folks who worked on The Elder Scrolls Online and a cancelled MMO codenamed Blackbird, the studio have confirmed they're working on an unnamed original game that'll hit PC and consoles.

Zenimax's Blackbird project was one of numerous games cancelled as Microsoft laid of around 9,000 staff in July, with the ZeniMax Online Studios United union left fighting for the jobs of members affected. Bloomberg subsequently reported that Blackbird was a sci-fi noir-ish third-person shooter with looty bits and lots of vertical movement.

Read more


content_text: Following Microsoft's mass layoffs earlier this year, a group of former ZeniMax developers have formed a worker-owned studio dubbed Sackbird. Made up of folks who worked on The Elder Scrolls Online and a cancelled MMO codenamed Blackbird, the studio have confirmed they're working on an unnamed original game that'll hit PC and consoles. Zenimax's Blackbird project was one of numerous games cancelled as Microsoft laid of around 9,000 staff in July, with the ZeniMax Online Studios United union left fighting for the jobs of members affected. Bloomberg subsequently reported that Blackbird was a sci-fi noir-ish third-person shooter with looty bits and lots of vertical movement. Read more
pub_date: 9 October 2025, 1:14 pm
guid: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/following-microsofts-mass-layoffs-former-elder-scrolls-online-and-blackbird-devs-form-worker-owned-studio
creator: Mark Warren
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