Arkane Lyon has less than three weeks left: Microsoft is looking for a studio buyer until November 13

Arkane Lyon, the studio behind Dishonored and Deathloop, may disappear as early as November.According to the French newspaper Le Monde, Microsoft informed the team about plans to close on July 16, and the deadline to find a buyer ends on November 13.If he is not found, 217 people will be left without work.

Why are the days counting?

French law requires a company with more than 1,000 employees to spend three months searching for a new owner for a unit it wants to close.Only after this can you proceed to closing.The search for a buyer, consultations and negotiations on an employee protection plan began this summer.

Union representatives told the publication that negotiations on cuts, which include the transfer of people to other Microsoft studios, are going “badly.”The unions are trying to buy time and save the studio.According to them, “several forms of takeover” are being considered.

What Microsoft says

The company neither confirmed nor denied the closure.In a response to Le Monde, she said she was continuing to explore different options for Arkane through the French consultation procedure and was keeping the socio-economic committee and staff informed.Internal documents seen by the newspaper said a complete shutdown was expected to begin at the end of 2026 and last through the first quarter of 2027.

What will happen to Marvel's Blade

What the studio is working on now has been known since 2023: Marvel's Blade.In July, Xbox promised not to cancel any of the publicly announced early projects.There were rumors in the spring that the game was dead, but then The Verge reported that the project had gone over budget, received an internal delay, and was aiming for a 2027 release.No one explains how Blade will survive the studio's closure.

Recall that in July, Xbox confirmed the reduction of 3,200 employees.Double Fine, Undead Labs and Compulsion Games then became independent, and Ninja Theory, after two failed deals, looks like it will be closed.The fate of Arkane Lyon remains the last unresolved question.