These kind of projects are cool to me because they are a sort of blend of retro and modern. In that MCUs only got fast enough fairly recently to do this sort of thing well.
All those older low resolution led scrolling signs you used to see around in the 70s, 80s, 90s, etc, had to use a CPLD or FPGA to get a decent refresh rate. Now that fast-ish MCUs are a thing, it's easier to get a mostly software based solution that looks decent, has a reasonable refresh/scan rate, etc.
Edit: Noted below, I had missed that these were addressable matrixes, not passive ones.
All those older low resolution led scrolling signs you used to see around in the 70s, 80s, 90s, etc, had to use a CPLD or FPGA to get a decent refresh rate. Now that fast-ish MCUs are a thing, it's easier to get a mostly software based solution that looks decent, has a reasonable refresh/scan rate, etc.
Edit: Noted below, I had missed that these were addressable matrixes, not passive ones.