Arkane union says Xbox is ‘sabotaging’ Blade development
The union representing Arkane workers accuses Xbox of “sabotaging” the development of Blade
A French union representing workers at Arkane has accused Xbox of “sabotaging” the development of Marvel’s Blade by putting a 19-month ban on hiring new staff.
In a statement, STJV (Syndicat des travailleureuses du jeu vidéo) claimed that work on Blade is “going fine”. It admits that there have been internal delays, but allahes that these delays were “artificially caused” by Microsoft, as Arkane was prevented from hiring new developers for over a year.
This comes as Xbox considers closing Arkane entirely, although it was reported yesterday that it is also taking bids from potential buyers, including Ubisoft.
The union’s statement reads: “Today, as work on Blade is going fine, and the level of quality of the game to be expected is on [par] with what Arkane has accustomed its players, workers have to face the harsh reality: our studio might get closed because, and only because, Microsoft decided to, even if that means sabotaging the game it funded.
“The decision to close Arkane is solely the brutal application of a never-ending search for maximum profit optimisation,” the post continues. “Arkane is profitable. Just not profitable enough for Microsoft.”
The union has outlined a list of demands for Xbox. These include giving Arkane a say in who would potentially acquire the studio, and a higher redundancy payout should Arkane be closed down. Right now, Arkane says that the redundancy being offered by Xbox is “outrageously low.”
However, Arkane makes it clear that it would like to remain open and continue development on Blade. It also argues that it is in Xbox’s interest to stick with Arkane: “Even this closure itself is done against any financial logic, as closing Arkane today would probably be more expensive than finishing the game.”
Arkane’s future, and the fate of Blade, remain uncertain. Xbox has not responded to these claims outlined by STJV at the time of publication.
Arkane was founded in 1999 and is best known for the Dishonored series and Prey. The studio joined Microsoft when its parent company, ZeniMax, was acquired in 2021. The potential closure comes as part of Xbox’s ongoing “reset”, rolled out by the new CEO, Asha Sharma.
