New reports indicate that Ubisoft has thrown its chips into the pile and has supposedly put in a bid to purchase Arkane Lyon from Microsoft. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma announced in July that the studio was among many slated for closure, but in the case of Arkane Lyon, French labor laws required Microsoft to search for a potential buyer within a limited amount of time before closing. Evidently, several interested parties (via Insider Gaming), including Ubisoft, have put in bids to buy the French studio known for Deathloop and Dishonored. It is not yet known who else is looking to take in Arkane Lyon, but if Ubisoft wins the bid, the buyout could be more akin to going from the frying pan and into the fire.
Ubisoft itself hasn’t exactly been in the best of financial standing for some time. From continued layoffs to rumors of it also potentially going up for sale, game cancelations, and generally speaking a rocky road for much of the last decade, it would still be an uncertain path for 30-year-old Arkane Lyon if it were absorbed into Ubisoft. Throw in the well-established practice of recouping debts incurred with buyouts by laying off staff, and things could still be bleak for the studio if a deal went through with Ubisoft. Now that’s not to say it would be any better with the unknown parties who have reportedly also put in bids, but the writing is already on the wall when it comes to Ubisoft. Meanwhile Akane Lyon has been hard at work on developing Marvel’s Blade which is rumored to be near completion but thanks to Sharma’s previous announcement is said to be on the chopping block. Hopes are undoubtedly high within Arkane Lyon that, if the studio does find new life elsewhere, it will be able to finish the game, which has been in development since 2023.
It’s been reported that there was an original deadline for a decision, which was November 13, but has since been extended by a month so we should know more by mid-December. It’s also been rumored that Ubisoft had interest in buying the studio long before Microsoft’s announcement to close it, but waited until then before making its move. Interesting times indeed.
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