A new post by the ZeniMax Online Studios union reveals that the developers haven’t been laid off yet, despite their MMORPG being cancelled.
Earlier this month, ZeniMax Online Studios’ upcoming MMORPG, Project Blackbird, was cancelled as a part of the recent Xbox layoffs. Soon after the game’s cancellation, Matt Firor, the president of the development studio, announced their departure. Interestingly, it seems no employees have been laid off at ZeniMax Online yet.
ZeniMax Online Union to the Rescue
A new post on the official ZOS United-CWA BlueSky account provides an update on the Microsoft layoffs. The statement first addresses how the shelving of the unannounced MMORPG has come as “a shock” to the developers, with many thinking “a future has been stolen” from them and the community.
However, despite the discussions on the employment status of the developers at ZeniMax Online, none of them have been laid off yet. They understood that “something like a layoff is inevitable”, hence, the teams behind Elder Scrolls Online and the unannounced MMORPG voted to form a union last December. The elected representatives of this union are currently negotiating with Microsoft regarding their “impacted teammates”.
The statement confirms that while the negotiations are on between the ZeniMax Online Union and Microsoft, the “developers behind the unannounced project remain employees of ZeniMax Online Studios with full pay and benefits.”
In other news, a new claim states that Microsoft cancelled Blackbird to focus on Fallout. What are your thoughts on ZeniMax Online devs not being laid off despite their game being cancelled? Let us know through the official Insider Gaming forums discussion.
For more information from Insider Gaming, read about AI replacing the 200 King Staff that was laid off at Xbox. Don’t forget to sign up for our weekly newsletter.
