MMO vet Matt Firor was going to make Fallout Online in 2007, but Interplay ‘went totally dark on me’ and he went to Bethesda to make ESO instead
Matt Firor, the veteran MMO director who created The Elder Scrolls Online, was originally set to develop Fallout Online for Interplay Entertainment in 2007. However, when Interplay “went totally dark,” abandoning communication with Firor, he left the project and eventually joined Bethesda, leading to the creation of ESO instead.
The story highlights how corporate decisions and communication failures can dramatically alter gaming’s trajectory. While Fallout 76 represents the closest fans have gotten to a true Fallout MMO experience in the modern era, had Firor’s original Fallout Online materialized, it could have positioned the franchise as a direct competitor to World of Warcraft during the peak of the MMO genre.
Firor’s career journey—from the failed Fallout Online project to founding ZeniMax and building ESO into a successful franchise—demonstrates both the volatility of game development and the importance of stable publisher backing. The irony is that his pivot away from Fallout ultimately resulted in one of the most enduring MMOs of its generation.
Notably, Firor recently departed ZeniMax in 2025 following Microsoft’s major restructuring, which also resulted in the cancellation of Project Blackbird. His exit adds another chapter to his history of navigating shifting corporate landscapes in MMO development.