Ubisoft is reportedly among multiple suitors preparing bids to try and purchase French developer Arkane Lyon, makers of the Dishonored series and the upcoming Marvel’s Blade, from Microsoft in the wake of the first-party publisher’s ongoing Xbox “reset.”
According to a new report from Bloomberg, at least three companies have submitted bids to Microsoft so far, with Assassin’s Creed publisher Ubisoft among them. The identities of the other bidders are not yet publicly known, but Microsoft has not accepted any bids yet. Bloomberg states that a deal would allow Arkane Lyon to complete its current project, Marvel’s Blade, which the outlet says “is expected to be released within the next year or two.”
Arkane’s other studio in Austin, Texas, was closed by Microsoft in 2024 as part of a larger series of project cuts and personnel layoffs. The Austin team had been responsible for the critically acclaimed studio’s only flop, 2023’s disappointing co-op vampire-hunting game Redfall, which IGN gave a 4 out of 10 in our review. Previously, Arkane Austin developed the buggy-at-launch-but-quickly-fixed immersive sim Prey as well as the beloved original Dishonored.
Arkane Lyon, meanwhile, was responsible for the 10-out-of-10 first-person immersive sim Deathloop along with the outstanding Dishonored 2.
Four studios have been spun out of Xbox so far rather than being immediately shut down as part of the “reset”: Double Fine, which has gone independent; Compulsion Games, which has also gone independent; Undead Labs, which has gone independent but signed a publishing deal with an unidentified company for State of Decay 3; and Ninja Theory, which unfortunately might close down after Microsoft had two deals for another company to acquire it fall through.
