Ubisoft and others bid for Arkane Studios as Xbox weighs offers

Xbox Considers Offers for Arkane and Blade Game

Arkane Studios and its unreleased game adaptation of Marvel’s Blade may find a new home outside of Microsoft, as Xbox weighs multiple acquisition offers ahead of a December deadline. Bloomberg reported that at least two other companies besides Ubisoft have pitched bids for the developer, while Xbox has also considered selling the studio to its own management.

The Tech TL;DR:
• Arkane Studios faces potential divestment from Microsoft following a wave of Xbox studio closures and layoffs announced in July.
• Bloomberg reported that Ubisoft and at least two unnamed gaming companies have made acquisition bids for the developer.
• Xbox is exploring sale options ahead of a December deadline, which could determine the future of the studio’s in-development Blade project.

The Blade Project and Previous Layoffs

The studio’s future has been uncertain since July, when speculation arose that Arkane might be caught in massive layoffs at Xbox that threatened to cancel its current projects. The development team was previously known for creating Dishonored and Deathloop. Publicly, the only material released for the vampire hunter project so far is a cinematic trailer that debuted in 2023.

Ubisoft and Industry-Wide Workforce Reductions

An acquisition by Ubisoft would place Arkane inside a publisher that has also experienced continuous cost-cutting measures. Ubisoft announced workforce reductions twice in January, followed by additional cuts in March, June, and October of this year. An Xbox representative told Bloomberg that the company was exploring options ahead of the upcoming deadline without providing further details.