Ubisoft and at least two other gaming companies have made offers to buy Arkane Lyon, the French studio behind Dishonored and the upcoming Marvel's Blade, according to Bloomberg.
Bloomberg's Jason Schreier broke the news on X (formerly Twitter), citing people familiar with the negotiations. According to Bloomberg's report, Microsoft's gaming unit is looking to divest the studio, and "Ubisoft Entertainment SA made a bid for the studio, as have at least two other gaming companies." The other bidders were not named.
Microsoft, Xbox, Arkane and Ubisoft had not commented publicly on the report at the time of writing. It is not known how much any of the offers are worth, or whether Microsoft has a preferred buyer.
Arkane Lyon's future at Xbox
The studio's future has been in doubt since July, when Xbox CEO Asha Sharma announced the biggest restructure in the division's history, with around 3,200 jobs to be cut. In her memo to staff, Sharma wrote: "In France, Arkane's management is beginning required consultation with its Works Council to review potential strategic options."
Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty gave an update in September, when Xbox cut a further 268 roles. In his message to employees, Booty said the consultation with Arkane "remains underway and is expected to continue through the end of the year." By then, Compulsion Games, Double Fine and Undead Labs had already left Xbox, while two separate deals for Ninja Theory had fallen through.
On October 23rd, French newspaper Le Monde reported that Microsoft wanted to close Arkane Lyon, putting 217 jobs at risk. French law requires a company of Microsoft's size to look for a buyer before it can shut a site down.
What Arkane Lyon makes
Arkane Lyon released the first Dishonored in 2012, followed by Dishonored 2 in 2016 and Deathloop in 2021. It became part of Xbox when Microsoft bought ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Bethesda, in 2021. Its sister studio, Arkane Austin, was closed by Microsoft in May 2024.
The Lyon team is currently making Marvel's Blade, a single-player action game based on the Marvel vampire hunter, which was revealed at The Game Awards in December 2023. No release date or platforms have been announced for the game.
