Phil Spencer reportedly had so much fun playing the Elder Scrolls Online dev's unannounced MMO that Xbox's Matt Booty had to take his controller from him — 4 months later it's canceled

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Phil Spencer
(Image credit: Xbox)

An unannounced Destiny-style MMO shooter previously in development at Elder Scrolls Online studio ZeniMax Online was canceled this week as part of Microsoft's layoff bloodbath, and according to a new report, Xbox boss Phil Spencer was a big fan of the game.

According to Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, there was a meeting in March where Spencer had the chance to go hands on with ZeniMax's new game, codenamed Blackbird, and he had so much fun that Xbox head Matt Booty had to take away his controller so the meeting could continue.

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Jordan Gerblick
Jordan Gerblick

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.

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