Microsoft has received offers from Ubisoft and at least two other gaming companies to acquire Arkane Studios, Bloomberg reported on Nov. 3. Ubisoft is the only bidder named in the report. The French studio made Dishonored and Deathloop and is developing Marvel’s Blade, announced in 2023.
Jason Schreier: Xbox’s Arkane Studios Attracts Multiple Bidders, Including Ubisoft
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Xbox has also considered selling Arkane to its own management, which could make the studio independent. Bloomberg’s report does not establish whether Microsoft is still considering that route.
The offers concern Arkane Studios, but the immediate deadline belongs to a separate consultation over a proposed closure of Arkane Lyon. Microsoft put 217 jobs at risk, then said the closure language in its consultation documents was not a final decision. Le Monde’s Oct. 23 report said French labor law requires an acquisition to be explored when planned layoffs exceed 1,000 employees, and placed Arkane Lyon’s 217 at-risk roles within Microsoft’s wider restructuring involving 3,200 job cuts.
On Oct. 24, Microsoft extended the consultation by one month, moving the buyer-search deadline from Nov. 13 to Dec. 13. A Microsoft representative told PC Gamer the extra time would let Microsoft consider options, including a partner to support the remaining development of Marvel’s Blade. A development partnership would support the game, but would not itself mean Arkane had been sold.
Arkane’s future is part of wider Xbox ownership changes. By September, Double Fine and Compulsion Games were independent again, while Ninja Theory and Undead Labs had entered terms to join new ownership.
Would you rather see Arkane go to Ubisoft or become independent under its management? Follow the buyer search and the consultation around Marvel’s Blade on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, and Telegram.
