ex-Zenimax developers' Sackbird studio and Microsoft's mass layoffs

[boreal_cryptid]

Following Microsoft's mass layoffs, former Elder Scrolls Online and Blackbird devs form employee-owned studio.

Zenimax's Blackbird project was one of numerous games cancelled as Microsoft laid of around 9,000 staff in July, with the ZeniMax Online Studios United union left fighting for the jobs of members affected. Bloomberg subsequently reported that Blackbird was a sci-fi noir-ish third-person shooter with looty bits and lots of vertical movement.

That brings us to the formation of Sackbird Studios, who've already won this year's award for most wonderfully tongue-in-cheek branding. The "independent, employee-owned game studio that is self-funded for multiple years" have adopted a roaming avian armed with a sack of belongings as their logo (...).

damn, i wish them luck. i hope they'll survive and be successful. knowing modern AAA game industry - i'm not surprised.

 

[Stingy Perry Stingy Perry]

Following Microsoft's mass layoffs, former Elder Scrolls Online and Blackbird devs form employee-owned studio.


damn, i wish them luck. i hope they'll survive and be successful. knowing modern AAA game industry - i'm not surprised.

I would like to see them do smaller projects first or even do some outsourcing for them to have a more secure foothold on the industry.

 

[Glimbo]

The background image on the homepage being AI generated doesn't make a good first impression.

 

[boreal_cryptid]

The background image on the homepage being AI generated doesn't make a good first impression.

DAMN. i didn't even see it at first. my bad.

just read what they think of using AI instead of hiring artists or using available icons... for fuck's sake.

 

[Glimbo]

They changed the background and social media icons lol.

Before​	After​

"Our trademarked logo was hand-drawn by a human artist working directly with the founding team,"

Seems like the trademarked logo only includes the text "Sackbird Studios"

The bird itself was probably AI generated because you can see the prompt they used when the page loads:
"Logo of Sackbird Studios featuring a black bird with a happy sack hanging from a stick resting on its shoulder, on a beige background."