Microsoft told managers in July that it intended to close the French game studio. Unions are seeking more time for a sale and talks over support for workers facing layoffs.
Arkane Lyon, the Microsoft-owned developer behind Dishonored and Marvel’s Blade, faces a 13 November deadline to find a buyer or risk closure, Le Monde reported, according to Polygon and Eurogamer. The proposed shutdown could cost 217 workers their jobs, Eurogamer reported, citing Le Monde.
Microsoft told the studio’s management on 16 July that it intended to close the operation in Lyon, France. The proposal followed July’s Xbox restructuring announcement, which Eurogamer says involves 3,200 job cuts; Polygon placed the cuts between July 2026 and 2027. French labour rules prevented an immediate shutdown, requiring a three-month buyer search and consultation over a job-protection plan. Eurogamer, citing Le Monde, says the buyer-search requirement applies to companies with more than 1,000 employees.
Internal documents seen by Le Monde schedule implementation of the plan to cease operations permanently from the end of 2026 through the first quarter of 2027, according to Eurogamer. That is a proposed timetable, not a completed closure; the 217 jobs are at risk if the shutdown proceeds.
Microsoft neither confirmed nor denied the proposed closure in its response to Le Monde. “We continue to explore various options for Arkane as part of the ongoing French consultation process,” the company said, according to Eurogamer. Microsoft also said it was keeping employees and their representative committee informed.
A Printemps Écologique representative told Le Monde that negotiations over the redundancy plan—the arrangements for employees losing their jobs—were going badly. Printemps Écologique and the French Video Game Workers’ Union, known as STJV, are seeking extensions to those talks and the buyer search. Eurogamer reported that the talks appear to include efforts to move workers to other Microsoft studios.
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The representative called for help finding new work, saying opportunities in the video-game industry were extremely limited. The unions have not ruled out challenging Microsoft’s economic justification in court. The representative argued that Arkane was doing well and that Microsoft wanted to sell it to save money and improve the profitability of short-term investments.
The Printemps Écologique representative said several forms of takeover were being considered. Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier said on 23 October that his understanding was that several paths to saving Arkane Lyon were actively being explored. He cautioned that negotiations could change, although he said he would be surprised if the studio closed.
Marvel’s Blade’s future remains uncertain. The union representative said the game was “nearing the end of production”. Eurogamer cited The Verge as reporting that it was targeting a 2027 release after an internal delay. Xbox said in July that the cuts would not cancel any publicly announced games or projects from its own studios.
The next reported deadline is 13 November. If no buyer is found, Arkane could close; unions are seeking more time for the search and negotiations.
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