After Xbox announcing plans to shutter the studio earlier this year, Arkane Lyon is still holding on by a thread thanks to the French legal system, although things are still looking bleak for the team.
A new report from French website Le Monde has served up some fresh details about the ongoing fight at Arkane Lyon to save itself and get Marvel’s Blade finished and shipped.
Based on French law, Microsoft has to spend at three months seeking a buyer for Arkane Lyon before they can shut the studio down, which would result in 217 job losses.
Interestingly, it seems Microsoft might be willing to consider other deals other than just a sale as well, based on how they chose to word a statement to Le Monde. Please keep in mind, though, these are AI translations of the original French article, so I cannot guarantee every word is completely accurate.
“We continue to explore various options for Arkane as part of the ongoing French consultation process,” Microsoft said in a statement to Le Monder. “We are keeping the Social and Economic Committee and employees informed, and are actively seeking a partner to support the next phase of development and enable the project to be brought to market.”
A union representitive who had his name changed for privacy reasons, told Le Monde that the closure doesn’t reflect reality, claiming that Arkane Lyone has actually been doing quiet well.
“This completely contradicts what we have been told in Social and Economic Committee meetings for years about the company’s financial situation.”
He added:
“Microsoft is seeking to part ways with Arkane, even though the studio is doing well, in order to cut costs and improve the profitability of its investments in the short term.”
According to Le Mondo, the unions are also seeking extensions to both the time period to find a buyer, and to redundancy negotations. According to Le Monde, a separate internal document, publicly accessible since September, states that the proposed closure would begin at the end of 2026 and continue through the first quarter of 2027.
Apparently, development of the Blade game continues, probably since it’s the team’s best hope of getting a new owner or partner.
Speaking of which, the report does mention that the union representative told them “Several forms of takeover are being considered.”
Jason Schreier of Bloomberg backed these claims up, and even seems more optimistic that Arkane Lyon can be saved, saying: “Let me share some positive news for a change: Despite all the gloomy headlines today, my understanding is that there are multiple paths actively being explored that would save Arkane Lyon.”
He does caution that anything could have during negotiatons, but that “I’d be surprised if the studio is shut down.”
There is a chance Arkane Lyon could somehow go independent like a few other Xbox studios did, or it could be bought by another publisher, especially since the deal could include Marvel’s Blade.
