Veteran Elder Scrolls Online devs set up new worker-owned studio after Xbox cancelled their last game: "We only answer to people who are passionate about games"

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"After years in AAA, we wanted the freedom to take smart risks without waiting for a greenlight or chasing quarterly targets"

A group of former The Elder Scrolls Online developers has bounced back with a new studio after Microsoft canceled their unannounced looter shooter amid the company's latest mass layoffs - and, most encouragingly, the new dev studio is entirely self-funded and worker-owned.

Just earlier this summer, Microsoft underwent another round of wide-ranging layoffs, which also resulted in the cancellations of the Perfect Dark reboot, Rare's Everwild, and an unannounced game from Zenimax Online, the studio behind The Elder Scrolls Online, that was reportedly in development for years.

"We're grateful for our time at ZeniMax Online Studios; it shaped us as developers and as people," CEO Lee Ridout continued. "When I learned that Blackbird was being cancelled and a lot of people were losing their jobs, it lit a fire. We realized the best way to protect our craft—and our team—was to create a studio where creative independence isn’t negotiable." Hear, hear.

Kaan Serin
Freelance contributor

Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.

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