Many employees at Arkane Studios are bracing themselves for bad news in the next month. Microsoft had plans to explore options for the studio as part of the news about their major shake up with Xbox. According to french law, the company has until November 13, 2026 to find a buyer before they close the studio down.
Details of the process that Arkane Studios and Microsoft are facing was revealed in French outlet Le Monde. The report cites a union representative from Printemps Ecologique. According to a law passed in 2014, called Florange Law, any company with more than 1,000 employees needs to allow for a period of three months to find a new buyer. After three months have passed, then the company can shut down immediately.
Since last summer, Microsoft has been actively looking for a buyer for Arkane Studios. The union representative mentioned that discussions between all parties have been seeking to get more time for talks to continue. Unfortunately, it hasn’t gone very well.
The closure of Arkane Studios would mean the loss of over 217 jobs. This includes developers who have been working on Marvel’s Blade, a game that was revealed in December 2023. According to the same union representative that spoke with Le Monde, the game was nearing the end of production.
Arkane Studios is widely known for their work on other big titles, such as the Dishonored series. The studio’s last big game was Death Loop, a first-person shooter that involved time manipulation and a revenge storyline. Since then, the team had been working on the new Blade game following its reveal trailer at The Game Awards 2023.
Very few details about Marvel’s Blade have come out since its announcement. Concept art from the game was shared on Arkane’s social media, but no gameplay was ever officially released. Marvel’s Blade game from Arkane Studios also had no connection to the cinematic universe from Marvel Studios. The Blade movie that was planned to star Marhershala Ali ended up being quietly cancelled by Marvel.
