Xbox would probably spend more money shutting down Arkane Lyon than it would trying to finish and release Marvel’s Blade, according to a union representing workers from the beloved imsim studio.
In a statement posted to the STJV (Syndicat des travailleureuses du jeu vidéo) website, the French union claimed that development on Marvel’s Blade is “going fine” and is shaping up to be on par with Arkane’s widely acclaimed gameography. By choosing to part ways with and potentially close the famed studio, the union says Microsoft is “sabotaging the game it funded.”
After Xbox’s sweeping job cuts and divestments from several first-party studios, Arkane was recently given until December to find a new buyer and ensure its future. Ubisoft Entertainment (Assassin’s Creed, Rainbow Six) is reportedly one of the companies interested in buying the studio behind Dishonored, Prey and the upcoming superhero adaptation, though nothing has been finalised yet.
The union also blamed many of the studio’s problems on Microsoft – a hiring freeze that lasted more than a year supposedly inflated the game’s budget and caused additional internal delays. “Microsoft now use those same delay and additional costs as a reason to close the studio,” the statement said.
“Even this closure itself is done against any financial logic, as closing Arkane today would probably be more expensive than finishing the game,” it continued. “The truth is that Microsoft based its decision only on stone cold and inhuman logic, in which our lives, projects and dreams are voided, so we can better serve Microsoft’s short term financial goals[…] The decision to close Arkane is solely the brutal application of a never-ending search for maximum profit optimization. Arkane is profitable. Just not profitable for Microsoft.”
The union’s list of demands now asks for employees to be able to have a say in choosing a potential buyer, as well as protections against any layoffs that might happen in the next few years. Should acquisition talks fail, the union claimed that the resources in Microsoft’s redundancy package are “outrageously low” – so it’s also demanding a redundancy payment of €200,000 per employee and further support.
Arkane’s not the only developer reeling from Xbox’s cuts. Double Fine (Psychonauts), Compulsion Games (South of Midnight) and Undead Labs (State of Decay) all managed to buy their independence, but had to lay off some staff as a result. It’s not looking good for Hellblade developer Ninja Theory, either.