According to a new report, Marvel’s Blade is still in development at Arkane Lyon despite the game not having been showcased for some time. The thing is, also according to this report, the studio is doing this work with the threat of closure looming over it and the 217 employees who work there. This comes from the French publication Le Monde, which states that the Florange Law, adopted by France in 2014, requires companies with at least 1,000 employees to seek a buyer for at least a three-month period before closing a studio. This report states that the search for a buyer for the developer of Dishonored 2 began this summer, making the deadline imminently approaching.
It goes on to state that the studio was informed of this back on July 16, shortly after Asha Sharma announced the spinoff or closure of other studios like Compulsion Games, Double Fine, and Ninja Theory. The latter of these studios has already been closed after failing to find a buyer for it, with other studios managing to go independent. Over 1,600 jobs were affected across Microsoft’s gaming business at that time.
Le Monde went on to say that a union rep has stated, “Negotiations on the redundancy plan are going badly” at Arkane Lyon, which was acquired as part of Microsoft’s purchase of Zenimax in 2021. The workers’ unions are also attempting to buy more time in an attempt to “give the discussions a better chance of reaching a conclusion.”
Microsoft, for its part, stated:
We continue to explore different options for Arkane as part of the ongoing French consultation process. We are keeping the works council and employees informed and are actively seeking a partner to support the next phase of development and enable the commercialization of the project.
The negotiations will be ongoing until October 30; however, unions have not ruled out bringing Microsoft to court. A representative of the union stated:
This is in complete contradiction with what we’ve been told in the Works Council for years about the company’s financial situation. Microsoft is looking to divest itself of Arkane, even though the studio is doing well, in order to save money and improve the profitability of its short-term investments.
Similar to Mass Effect Universe, which was recently canceled due to the closure of legendary RPG developer BioWare, it appears the same fate might befall Marvel’s Blade. According to people close to the project, the title was most likely on track to get a new trailer early next year, with a release planned for the fourth quarter of 2027.
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