It might be the end of the road for Marvel's Blade developer Arkane Lyon, as a new report says that the studio has until November 13 to find a buyer or face closure.
Le Monde reported that while Microsoft had followed the procedure as laid out in Florange Law--French legislation that requires Microsoft to spend at least three months searching for a buyer for Arkane Lyon--negotiations were going "badly," and worker unions are currently attempting to buy more time to save jobs at the studio, which is currently still working on Marvel's Blade. The report says "several forms of takeover" are being considered, but the union's plans could include re-employing affected staff at other Xbox studios or taking Microsoft to court.
According to IGN, development on Marvel's Blade was still on track for a new reveal in early 2027, followed by a Q4 2027 release. The game was originally revealed in December 2023, but aside from a handful of concept art images since then, nothing else has been shown.
If Arkane Lyon is facing closure, it'll be the end of a studio that has been around for 27 years. Its first game was Arx Fatalis in 2002, and it followed that up with the release of Dark Messiah of Might and Magic (2006) and KarmaStar (2009). Since the 2010s, the studio has pumped out several hits like the Dishonored games and Deathloop. The Texas-based studio that it operated, Arkane Austin, was established in 2006, but following the release of the critically panned Redfall in 2023, it was shut down in 2024.
Arkane Lyon's departure from the Xbox Games Studio portfolio was announced earlier this year, alongside Double Fine Productions, Compulsion Games, Undead Labs, and Ninja Theory. Most of the studios have opted to become independent developers again, but Ninja Theory is now expected to shut down as plans for outside investors to acquire it fell through.