Xbox has extended Arkane Lyon’s consultation period by around a month, as the search for a new owner continues. If one isn’t found, the studio will likely be shut down.
Arkane Lyon – the developer behind immersive sims including Dishonored and Deathloop – was one of several first-party studios impacted by Xbox CEO Asha Sharma’s sweeping “reset”, which will result in 3,200 job losses by the time the process is complete. Arkane’s leadership was reportedly informed of Xbox’s intention to close the studio on 16th July, but France’s Florange Law meant a three-month search for a buyer must first be undertaken.
Last week, unions – Printemps Écologique and Syndicat des Travailleureuses du Jeu Vidéo – were said to be fighting to buy more time for negotiations. And now, as per a new report by Le Monde, Microsoft has agreed to extend the original 13th November deadline to December. If a buyer still isn’t found, 217 jobs are at risk.
Documents published on the French government’s website in August referenced a plan for “the complete and permanent cessation of the company’s activities” and another for the “dismissal of all employees for economic reasons.”
A Microsoft representative confirmed the deadline extension to PC Gamer, telling the outlet: “We have extended the consultation period by one additional month as we explore options, including finding a partner to support the studio through the development work still ahead.” That “development work” refers to Marvel’s Blade, which seems to still be under Arkane’s purview even now.
“This is a defined extension, and we remain committed to keeping the Works Council informed throughout the process,” Microsoft added. As for the filings referring to the closure of Arkane and the redundancy of its developers, the company spokesperson said they are a “part of the required consultation process and do not represent a final decision.”
According to members of Printemps Ecologique (thanks VGC), Marvel’s Blade is almost complete. The union says it would be a “monumental waste” for the game not to be released. However, a PC Gamer source also claimed Marvel’s Blade — which has remained something of an enigma since its unveiling back in 2023 — still has years to go until it is finished.
Arkane’s possible closure as part of Xbox’s massive wave of cuts has already resulted in over 1,600 layoffs as restructuring continues. Sharma’s “reset” has also included the jettisoning of beloved Psychonauts developer Double Fine, sweeping job cuts at Halo Studios as it transitions into a support studio, and job losses across various other Xbox-owned studios.
What’s more, it seems Microsoft is far from done. According to a recent report, Xbox is planning three more waves of cuts: one this month, another in November, and a third in January.
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Steam’s Personal Calendar, a feature Valve has been testing for nearly a year, has finally left beta and is now available for everyone.
Personal Calendar, which initially launched as a Steam Labs experiment last October, works by highlighting upcoming games and recent releases — tailored to your interests — and arranging them by release date. The feature has its own section on the store homepage, and also has a dedicated page showing the games Steam’s algorithm believes you’re going to like, meaning what’s included is different for everyone.
While Steam has always had several ways of recommending games to players based on their tastes, Personal Calendar takes it a step further by having a stricter recommendation criteria and arranging the results in an intuitive, month-based way that’s less likely to overwhelm.
Valve says its recommendation engine relies on three key metrics: it looks at your recently played games, finds other players with similar playtime profiles, then looks at the games those players have been playing or adding to their wishlists. In a blog post, Valve explains only games “you play the most” are considered, meaning titles you try for a few minutes won’t factor into your recommendations.
Crucially, the Personal Calendar’s recommendations are not static, and Valve notes they’re refreshed daily to incorporate new data where available. “In reality you aren’t likely to see your recommendations change all that much from day to day,” it writes, “but as time goes by you will obviously see new things pop up as the eight-week horizon of the calendar marches forward, or as games lock in their release dates.”
Incidentally, Valve is aware the feature could end up having the opposite effect, i.e., limiting the number of games a player potentially sees because they fall outside their filters, essentially trapping them inside a bubble. The developer doesn’t have a clear solution for that potential problem, but says it wants to keep things varied.
“With the Personal Calendar, it’s unlikely that every day has a new game launching that is the same genre/theme as games you’ve been playing and is also a good recommendation for you,” Valve explains. “As a result, the recommendations generated by the Personal Calendar end up drawing from a wider pool of titles across all kinds of genres that are releasing each day.”
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