In today’s announcement of a staggering 3,200 layoffs at Xbox, the fate of one fan (and PC Gamer) favorite studio was left up in the air. Arkane Lyon, the remaining half of the modern immersive sim maestros, appears to be entering negotiations for an indie exit similar to other former Xbox studios.
“In France, Arkane’s management is beginning required consultation with its Works Council to review potential strategic options,” Xbox CEO Asha Sharma wrote in her missive on the mass layoffs. Former Kotaku editor Stephen Totilo has more context in his newsletter, Game File.
According to Totilo, Arkane is “also slated for an exit” similar to Double Fine, Undead Labs, Compulsion Games, and Ninja Theory. “Given local laws, though, Microsoft has been unable to explore its future—ranging from sale, to management buyout to shutdown—until today,” Totilo wrote. “The fate of the Blade game is contingent on the studio’s future.”
On Bluesky, Totilo wrote that Arkane’s negotiations with Microsoft could lead to “100+” layoffs at the studio, depending on what form its future takes. Similar to the UK, which mandates a month-long redundancy process in the event of layoffs, muscular French labor laws prevent the sort of abrupt, day-and-date layoffs we’re used to seeing in the United States.