After getting caught up in Xbox CEO Asha Sharma's devastating layoffs and cuts earlier this year, Arkane Lyon - the beloved immersive sim studio behind the likes of Dishonored and Deathloop - reportedly only has until November to find a buyer. If the search fails, it will be shut down.
Arkane Lyon was one of a number of first-party studios reportedly facing closure ahead of Xbox's massive "reset" in July. However, when the layoffs were officially announced - bringing confirmation that 3,200 Xbox employees will eventually lose their jobs as part of the sweeping restructuring - Microsoft revealed Psychonauts developer Double Fine, State of Decay studio Undead Labs, and South of Midnight developer Compulsion Games would go independent following negotiations.
Hellblade studio Ninja Theory is now likely to close after two acquisition deals fell through, only leaving the fate of Arkane Lyon - a studio Microsoft acquired in 2021 when it purchased ZeniMax - uncertain. At the time, Xbox said it was "beginning required consultation with its Works Council to review potential strategic options" regarding Arkane, but little has been heard since.
Now, a report by French publication Le Monde (via Google Translate) has shed additional light on the studio's fate. Speaking to the publication, Printemps Écologique and the Video Game Workers’ Union (STJV) said Xbox management had informed Arkane Lyon it was facing closure on 16th July. As Le Monde notes, however, Microsoft's plan was complicated by French law, which requires a company with more than 1,000 employees to spend three months seeking a new buyer for any operational arm it plans to close.
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