Xbox Marvel game under threat of cancellation as layoffs loom
A new Marvel game published by Bethesda on Xbox looks set to be canned, according to new reports. As mass layoffs loom at Xbox, a number of studios face uncertain futures and so do the projects they’re working on.
Among those under threat is French-based Arkane Studios, best known for work on the Dishonored series. Arkane is in the middle of developing a new game based on the supernatural superhero, Blade. The action-adventure title, Marvel’s Blade, is set in the midst of a vampiric invasion of Paris that the eponymous hero attempts to thwart.
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But now Microsoft is considering binning the title, which has been in development since 2022.
It was announced with a cinematic trailer at The Game Awards 2023, sending Marvel fans into an excited frenzy.
But there has been little news since and the latest reports don't bode well for a title stuck in development hell.
According to The Verge, Microsoft is thinking about closing at least five studios and Arkane is among those on the chopping block.
Huge layoffs at Xbox are expected to be announced next week, following an open letter from Xbox CEO Asha Sharma and Chief Content Officer Matt Booty that was published on the Xbox website.
In a June blog post on the Xbox Wire, entitled: ‘Next 100 Days: Xbox Reset’, the pair warned of “surprising and frustrating” realities, laying bare a $500m dip in annual revenue over the past five years and promising a “reset for a stronger Xbox”.
It would be an especially bizarre move to axe Marvel’s Blade and put Arkane at risk given that Bethesda’s head honcho, Todd Howard, offered an update on the game as recently as May.
During an interview with Entertainment Weekly, he said that “the folks at Arkane are doing a really, really great job” while refusing to commit to when a new look at Marvel’s Blade would be coming.
Marvel’s Blade was planned to release at the end of this year, but now the launch date has been pushed back to 2027 - if indeed, at all.