While the fate of former Xbox first-party studios such as Double Fine and Undead Labs has already been settled, it has been some time since any news emerged from Arkane Lyon, the studio behind the acclaimed Dishonored games.
A now-published article in Le Monde (paywalled) sheds light on the struggles of the French studio, which is racing to find a buyer ahead of a 13 November deadline.
As may be recalled, Microsoft was unable to close the studio immediately due to a consultation period required under French law. The Redmond-based firm is obligated to attempt to sell the studio, but a mandated three-month deadline is now drawing to a close.
The team has until 13 November to secure new funding, otherwise the studio will be shut down and around 217 jobs will be lost. According to the report, negotiations are ongoing.
Union representatives claim that the team’s current project, Marvel’s Blade—announced in 2023—is “nearing the end of production.” Spokespeople for the studio believe it will be a success if it ever sees the light of day.
But those same people blame Microsoft for its “disrespectful” treatment of the team.
“We are collateral victims of Xbox’s change in strategy,” one of the people said.
As alluded to above, Microsoft has already shuttered the UK studio Ninja Theory and offloaded various other teams, such as Compulsion Games and others.
It is also in the process of reorganising its entire first-party operations, seemingly sunsetting Xbox Game Studios as it places its remaining teams under the umbrella of Bethesda and Activision. Its objective is to focus on big franchises such as Fallout and Call of Duty.
The alarming part is that the platform holder is not done yet: it has cut over 1,800 jobs so far, but more redundancies are coming, as it aims to eliminate 3,200 roles overall.
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