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The slash-and-burn operation underway at Microsoft looks set to take it up a notch with The Verge reporting that the previously teased “Marvel’s Blade” game could be one of the victims.
The outlet says the company is currently weighing the possibility of closing at least five studios, including France-based Arkane Studios, which is best-known for the “Dishonored” game franchise.
They’re developing the “Blade” game, which sources indicate was originally supposed to debut later this year. It was then pushed back to late 2027 and is said to be running over budget.
As Microsoft is trying to decide Blade’s fate, they’re also said to be exploring options to sell Arkane Studios – but any such sale could take months.
Undead Labs, the developers of the “State of Decay” franchise, are in a similar boat, with a report at GamesBeat earlier this week indicating Microsoft is actively looking for a buyer for them. That has raised obvious concerns about the fate of the recently announced “State of Decay 3”.
Earlier this month came news that Microsoft is trying to spin off Compulsion Games, Double Fine, and Ninja Theory.
Microsoft is also preparing for a wave of layoffs at Xbox starting next week that will drastically reshape its gaming division under new CEO Asha Sharma who has been quite transparent about the difficult times Xbox is facing and that ‘hard choices’ need to be made to get the division soaring again.
Finally, Bloomberg reports that Xbox is pulling out of a deal to fund and publish “Hitman” and “007: First Light” developer IO Interactive’s new video game codenamed ‘Project Fantasy’ as it reevaluates its investment portfolio.
The post Xbox May Cancel “Marvel’s Blade” Game appeared first on Dark Horizons.
