Rumour claims Zenimax MMO and Perfect Dark cancelled

As the news of mass layoffs at Microsoft continues to spread, more details about cancelled games are coming to light. This afternoon, it was reported that Rare's next game, Everwild, has now been cancelled. Now, it looks like the Perfect Dark reboot and a new MMO from Zenimax have also been cancelled.

Jason Schreier, who has been closely covering the layoffs at Xbox for weeks, has learned that Zenimax Online Studios has cancelled a new MMORPG that began development back in 2018. This game, codenamed Project Blackbird, was in development for eight years before being scrapped as part of the most recent cost-cutting measures.

This news closely follows the report that Rare Studios had also suffered a cancellation, with plans for Everwild being scrapped entirely after first announcing the game in 2019.

There is also a rumour going around claiming that the Perfect Dark reboot, a collaborative project between Microsoft studio ‘The Initiative' and Crystal Dynamics, has also been cancelled. However, there has yet to be a reliable source to back this claim up.

The full scope of the layoffs at Xbox is not yet fully understood and Microsoft has still not made any public statements, despite rumours floating around in the press for weeks.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: The cancellations of Everwild and this MMO are disappointing but not entirely unexpected. Everwild was announced in 2019 and was not close to being released. The same goes for this MMO, which was first discovered by fans when Microsoft acquired Zenimax in 2020.  As for Perfect Dark, that appears to just be a rumoured cancellation for now and has very little backing it up. 

Become a Patron!