French Union Accuses Microsoft Regarding Arkane Lyon and Marvel's Blade

The fate of Arkane Lyon, the developers of Marvel's Blade, has remained (and remains) uncertain over the past year. As part of Xbox's restructuring this year, it was decided that the studio would separate from Microsoft and find a new owner. Several months have passed, and a new owner has yet to be found; if this does not change, Arkane Studios may be shut down, and Marvel's Blade may be canceled.

For its part, the French union STJV recently issued a statement accusing Microsoft of being responsible for the situation surrounding Arkane Lyon and Marvel's Blade. As reported by VGC, union officials claim the company itself caused problems for the developers, as Arkane was unable to hire new employees for over a year and a half, which slowed down the development of Marvel’s Blade and increased its budget. That said, according to STJV, Arkane remains profitable for Microsoft, but the company considers this insufficient, leading to layoffs and an inflated valuation of the studio when it comes to a potential sale.

Arkane Studios workers are accusing Microsoft of sabotaging Marvel’s Blade by freezing hiring for 19 months, creating delays and extra costs that are now being used to justify closing the studio.

In an open letter, the STJV union says Microsoft is responsible for the situation, arguing that Arkane is understaffed and underfunded.

“Microsoft chose to close Arkane,” the union claims, adding that the studio could be shut down “even if that means sabotaging the game it funded.”

The workers insist development is going well and say Blade is reaching the quality expected from the studio.

“We want to finish Blade and release it to the players,”

The union also argues that “closing Arkane today would probably be more expensive than finishing the game.”

Previously, it was reported that Arkane Lyon had until November 13 to find a new owner, but the deadline has recently been extended to December 13. Meanwhile, according to Jason Schreier, Ubisoft is considering the possibility of acquiring Arkane Lyon, and he also mentions several other unnamed major companies in his report. However, no concrete decision has been made on this matter yet.

Marvel's Blade was announced in 2023 at The Game Awards. Should any studio acquire Arkane Lyon, Jason Schreier stated it would take another 1–2 years to complete the game. However, as noted by union officials, among others, shutting down Arkane would cost more than canceling Marvel's Blade, which increases the chances that the game will be finished.