French Union Accuses Microsoft Of Sabotaging Arkane And Blade

Microsoft imposed a nineteen-month hiring freeze at Arkane and then used the resulting delays to justify closing the twenty-five-year-old studio. A French game union called STJV published an open letter on November fourth claiming that development on Marvel's Blade is actually going fine. The union argues that shutting down the profitable studio defies financial logic and will cost more than simply finishing the game. Microsoft faces a December deadline to find a buyer for the studio, with bids already coming in from Ubisoft and other interested parties. If a sale fails, the union demands that Microsoft pay roughly two hundred twenty-five thousand dollars in redundancy per employee. Two hundred seventeen workers stand to lose their jobs if the studio finally goes under.