After a lot of layoffs at Microsoft’s gaming division, a group of developers from ZeniMax Online Studios has turned a time of chaos in the industry into a chance to be free. The people who were working on the now-canceled MMO Project Blackbird have started Sackbird Studios, a new game development studio owned by its employees.
The studio was formed in direct response to the cancellation of their project and the loss of jobs that followed. Lee Ridout, the CEO of Sackbird Studios, said, “When I found out that Blackbird was being canceled and a lot of people were losing their jobs, it lit a fire.” We figured out that the best way to keep our craft and our team safe was to build a studio where creative freedom is non-negotiable. The name of the studio, “Sackbird,” is a fun reference to how it came to be.
Sackbird Studios is based on the idea that people can be creative and financially independent. The founding team, which includes fewer than ten former leads and key contributors from The Elder Scrolls Online and the core team from Project Blackbird, has made the company fully owned and funded by its employees for many years. They built this structure on purpose to avoid the problems they had in the bigger AAA industry.
This method lets the Baltimore-based studio work without outside investors, which gives them complete creative control over their projects. This method lets the Baltimore-based studio work without outside investors, which gives them complete creative control over their projects.
David Worley, the Chief Operating Officer at Sackbird Studios, said, “After years in AAA, we wanted the freedom to take smart risks without waiting for a greenlight or chasing quarterly goals.” We are completely owned and funded by our employees, so we only answer to people who love games. The studio has said that its goal is to make a “developer-first environment with a long runway and a tight, senior team.”
Sackbird Studios isn’t ready to share specific details about its first game yet, but it has confirmed that it is working on an original project for PC and consoles. Sackbird Studios isn’t ready to share specific details about its first game yet, but it has confirmed that it is working on an original project for PC and consoles. The studio has hinted that its job is to “make multiplayer experiences that players will never forget and that will surprise and thrill them.”
Microsoft’s decision to cancel ZeniMax Online’s Project Blackbird, an MMO that had been in development since 2018, in July 2025 led to the studio’s creation. Microsoft’s decision to cancel ZeniMax Online’s Project Blackbird, an MMO that had been in development since 2018, in July 2025 led to the studio’s creation.
This cancellation was part of a larger wave of layoffs in Microsoft’s gaming division. Other studios, like The Initiative, also closed, and other games that people were looking forward to, like Everwild and the Perfect Dark reboot, were also canceled.
