Ubisoft Is Reportedly Looking to Purchase Arkane Lyon and Develop Marvel’s Blade

Marvel's Blade, which was announced in 2023, and Arkane Lyon, the game's developer, are going through a rough patch. As part of Xbox’s restructuring this year, a decision was made to split from the publisher. Microsoft has reportedly put the studio up for sale, but until recently, the situation didn’t look very promising. Now, however, there’s a chance that everything could change.

Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier has published a new report in which he confirmed that Ubisoft is one of the studios interested in acquiring Arkane Lyon. Citing his own sources, he claims that Microsoft has received offers from the French company, as well as from several other studios that are not named. Schreier also states that Microsoft has considered the possibility of selling the studio to its own management team and that, in case of an acquisition by one of these companies, Marvel’s Blade would still require another 1–2 years for development to be fully completed and for the game to be released.

Arkane Lyon’s Blade game gets some updates:

• XBOX considered selling the studio to its own management, going indie.
• Bidders including Ubisoft are offering to buy Arkane Lyon.
• Deadline to decide the studio’s future is this December.
• Any deal will allow Blade to be finished, and the game needs 1-2 years to launch.

Previously, it was reported that Arkane Lyon needed to find a new owner by November 13; otherwise, the studio risked being shut down and Marvel's Blade would be canceled. However, updates have since emerged indicating that Microsoft has given the studio an extension—until December 13. This may be related to the acquisition offers that have come in, as Schreier claims. Also, according to Jez Corden, Microsoft desires to withdraw from Marvel's Blade for several reasons: the expensive Marvel license, the game's budget requiring additional investment—as previously reported—and the need for the game to sell in massive numbers, which is unlikely to be possible due to a number of factors—including all of the above.

Most likely, if Ubisoft acquires Arkane Lyon, this could directly affect the development of Marvel's Blade. The studio certainly has its own unique identity—as proven, first and foremost, by Dishonored—and Ubisoft’s potential interference in development could negatively impact the game—to the point where much of the work done so far might be altered or even removed. However, at this point, this is nothing more than speculation, since Ubisoft has not yet acquired Arkane Lyon, and it’s not a given that it will. But we’ll keep an eye on the situation and hope that the studio will not be shut down and that Marvel’s Blade will not be canceled.