Microsoft extends Arkane Lyon buyer search as Marvel's Blade continues

By Marcus Bennett

Microsoft has extended its search for a new buyer for Arkane Lyon by one month, keeping open a process originally scheduled to end on November 13. The studio continues development on Marvel's Blade. For its staff, the extension buys consultation time without settling who will employ them next.

Arkane Studios' Social and Economic Committee has been in consultation with Microsoft since July, when Xbox announced the decision to divest the studio as part of its ongoing reset. The process was originally due to conclude on November 13.

What changed in the consultation?

A Microsoft representative confirmed to PC Gamer that "this is a defined extension, and we remain committed to keeping the Works Council informed throughout the process."

The extension changes the negotiating calendar, not the stated commercial objective. Microsoft did not directly respond to Le Monde's reporting on the process. In a statement to IGN, it said it continued to explore different options within the French consultation process, kept the works council and employees informed, and was actively seeking a partner to support the next development phase and commercialization of the project.

Le Monde reported that several forms of takeover were under consideration. Microsoft has not named a buyer or confirmed the options described in the publication. The extra month delays resolution without changing Microsoft's stated goal: finding a partner for the next phase of Blade development.

What does this change for Arkane Lyon's staff?

A representative for trade union Printemps Écologique told Le Monde, in reporting carried by Gematsu and IGN: "negotiations on the redundancy plan are going badly."

The union said the potential divestiture contradicted what the Works Council had been told for years about Arkane Lyon's financial situation. According to the representative, Microsoft wants to divest Arkane even though the studio is doing well, in order to save money and improve the profitability of its short-term investments.

Those statements describe the union's understanding of Microsoft's motives, not a published financial case from the company. The representative also said any redundancy plan must be adapted to the video game market, where prospects for workers returning to employment are currently extremely limited.

The sale process and redundancy discussions now run as connected workstreams. A buyer could support continued Blade development, while failure to find one leaves the closure option in play.

For staff, the practical answer is limited: continued Blade work currently coexists with uncertainty over the employer and a redundancy plan that the union says is going badly.

Why does the closure timeline matter?

Le Monde reviewed an internal report that scheduled the implementation of a project for the complete and definitive cessation of Arkane Lyon's activities to begin at the end of 2026. The report said the work should extend into the first quarter of 2027.

For a prospective buyer, that timetable is part of the decision. Microsoft says it wants a partner for the next phase of development and commercialization of the project. The internal schedule reviewed by Le Monde treats final cessation as a multi-quarter process beginning late 2026.

The available reporting points to two tracks: continued Blade development and the search for a partner, alongside contingency planning for closure. Neither Microsoft nor Le Monde has provided a handover timetable for Arkane Lyon.

The next decision to watch is whether Microsoft identifies a takeover partner before the extended consultation concludes, or lets the redundancy plan and internal closure schedule advance.