Of the many purported studio closures that Xbox has planned, Arkane Studios sticks out the most. The Lyon-based team is working on Marvel’s Blade, and despite an artist claiming it hasn’t been cancelled, Microsoft is apparently keen on this.
However, despite allegedly being delayed to next year, Giant Bomb’s Jeff Grubb reports that it was “pretty far along.” On the latest Giant Bombcast, he notes that Arkane “were going to begin debuting it in some way later this year, and maybe even release it next year.”
He notes that the project seemingly needed more time but Xbox “just didn’t want to pay for that.” Keep in mind that Grubb didn’t confirm the cancellation or even that Arkane is officially being canned. But it seems the 2027 release window is legitimate, according to Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier on ResetEra, though he couldn’t confirm the fate of either with “100 percent certainty” at this time.
Aside from Arkane, reports currently claim that Compulsion Games, Ninja Theory, Double Fine Productions and Undead Labs are in danger of shutting down. There’s always the possibility of a buy-out or another company acquiring the studios, but nothing is confirmed as of now. Obsidian Entertainment was recently alleged to be part of the lineup, but it’s seemingly safe, as Schreier debunked those reports.
With Microsoft entering a new financial year, we could learn more next week and see just how extensive the layoffs could be. Stay tuned for updates in the meantime.
