Arkane Studios Reportedly Faces a Deadline of November 13 to Find a Buyer - News
by William D'Angelo , posted 12 hours ago / 1,069 Views
Xbox as part of its reset has laid off nearly 2,000 employees and has let several studios either go independent or be bought out by a third party.
Arkane Studios is a studio that Xbox plans to divest as there are currently "several forms of takeover" under consideration, according to French publication Le Monde that spoke with a union representative from Printemps Ecologique.
The report claims Arkane Studios faces a November 13 deadline in the consultation process as the developer is currently facing the possibility of a closure with 217 jobs at risk.
France's Florange Law requires companies with over 1,000 employees that want to close an establishment to look for a buyer for three months. This started in the middle of the summer.
Microsoft told the publication it was "actively seeking a partner to support the next phase of development and enable the commercialization of the [Marvel's Blade] project."
Arkane Studios is best known for its work on Dishonored and Deathloop. the studios next project, Marvel's Blade, "is nearing the end" according to a union representative that spoke with Le Monde that also said it "would be a monumental waste" if it went unreleased.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can follow the author on Bluesky.
More Articles
Redfall, Deathloop, and Marvel's blade game (which got axed?)....
Yeah I think getting a buyer might prove a challenge.
Redfall was by their American studio, which has already been closed down.
Hopefully they find the buyer. Dishonored 1 and Prey were great games, but I still find their firstborn, Arx Fatalis, to be the best they've made, and hopefully they will get back to AA development as more sustainable model.
It's a shame for sure that nobody wants to buy them, but understandable. The last 3 games that Arkane Lyon worked on didn't exactly have stellar sales, Deathloop, Wolfenstein Youngblood, and Dishonored: Death of the Outsider. Add on the fact that Redfall by the already closed Arkane Austin hurt the Lyon studio's reputation, and the fact that Marvel's Blade is only like half finished, meaning whoever buys them would have to fund further years of development before they saw any return on investment.
I've only played the first Dishonored from them (bought the others too though!), but that alone would make this harder than the BioWare closure. BioWare's output was lackluster for the longest time, whereas Arkane generally did something interesting, even if they didn't always seem to hit the mark.
Certainly seems like Microsoft are finished with their cull at Xbox. We know Ninja Theory is in its death throes, and Id be amazed if inXile is still a part of Xbox by the end of 2027.
Might well be more on the chopping block that we don’t yet know about.
