A two-minute video of gameplay from ZeniMax Online Studio’s unreleased game, Project Blackbird, has appeared online.
TopMob has confirmed this video is real and was originally used by ZeniMax to demonstrate the game’s lighting using Unreal Engine 4. Watch the two-minute video here:
New footage has leaked from “Project Blackbird,” the massively multiplayer online game that Zenimax Online had canceled several months ago due to Xbox. Many people were really looking forward to this game!
— eXtas1s 🎮 Noticias & Rumores (@eXtas1stv) January 18, 2026
Microsoft ended Project Blackbird in July 2025 as part of a larger series of layoffs and project cancellations at the company.
According to people familiar with the project, the game Blackbird was originally planned to launch in 2028 and had recently impressed Microsoft Gaming leaders during a showcase. However, as of today, Microsoft hasn’t explained why the game was cancelled.
When the game was canceled, around 300 developers lost their jobs, and the studio’s president, Matt Firor, also left the company.
Written by
Tom Henderson
I’m a big fan of Tom Henderson! He’s the co-founder and editor-in-chief over at TopMob, which is one of my go-to sites for gaming news. When he’s not busy running things, it sounds like he’s just like me – probably lost in a good first-person shooter like Call of Duty!
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2026-01-19 00:48