Back in July of last year, Microsoft cancelled The Elder Scrolls Online dev's next game — Project Blackbird — despite reports that some Xbox execs were "blown away" by it previously. Unfortunately, the public never got to see the title in action, but now, some footage of the canned MMORPG has leaked online, giving us a glimpse at what might have been.
We've shared the roughly two-minute clip up above, which is more of a cinematic than anything that would represent proper gameplay. In fact, it looks like a bit of a tone piece for Project Blackbird, as the ESO devs tried to set the scene for their once-planned sci-fi adventure, and we're definitely getting cyberpunk vibes from the overall look and feel of it.
This leak matches up with what we've heard about Project Blackbird in the past, even if they were mostly reports from third parties. When it was cancelled last summer, we heard that the game placed a big focus on "vertical movement" and embodied a "sci-fi, noir aesthetic" - two things that are absolutely in-play in this video.
Well-known leaker eXtas1s also shared the clip on social media:
Alas, we're destined never to see the full game in action - which is a shame, because this looks like it could have developed into quite something. Project Blackbird's cancellation also led to one of the studio's bosses leaving the company, which we learned about just a few short weeks ago.