Members of the French video game union STJV at Arkane Lyon have accused Microsoft of sabotaging Marvel's Blade. In a statement published on November 4, the union claims a 19-month hiring freeze created the very delays and extra costs that Microsoft now cites as economic grounds for closing the studio. It also says work on Blade is going fine, with expected quality on par with Arkane's earlier games. Xbox has not responded publicly yet.
The union goes further, arguing that Arkane is profitable, "just not profitable enough for Microsoft." Apparently, the studio's cash always looks low because leftover money gets sent up to the group through cash pooling, and sales of its older games, which STJV puts in the tens of millions, do not show up in the company results. It adds that closing Arkane would probably cost more than finishing Blade.
The union wants workers to have a say in picking a buyer, along with a fund that would protect anyone a new owner lays off within 24 months. If the studio does close, it is asking for a €200,000 redundancy payment and two years of Microsoft-funded redeployment support, among other demands.
Arkane Lyon was placed under review in July as part of Xbox's reset, and French law requires Microsoft to look for a buyer before it can close the studio. That process was first set to end on November 13, but it now runs until December 13. Ubisoft and at least two other companies have reportedly made offers, while around 217 jobs are on the line. Earlier reports claimed Blade had slipped internally to late 2027 and gone over budget, though the union does not say when the freeze began, making its full impact hard to judge.
Source: TechPowerUp News · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing