Microsoft Reportedly Considering Canceling Marvel's 'Blade' And Shutting Arkane Down
Image Source: Marvel
The anxiety surrounding Xbox is mounting day by day. Less than a month after their summer showcase, where they revealed and showed off several games that got fans excited for potential new life in the struggling giant, Microsoft has revealed price increases, unclear communication regarding exclusivity, rumors of potentially selling off Xbox, and now, growing word of massive layoffs and studio closures, including studios that had games featured during the showcase. It’s an absolute whirlwind of news that has industry news outlets stunned and bewildered why Xbox had the showcase they did.
One of the studios now supposedly on the chopping block is Arkane. Known for the successful and popular Dishonored games, Prey, Deathloop, but also, unfortunately, the disastrous Redfall, the studio still managed to secure the rights to develop a game based on one of Marvel’s most popular characters: Blade.
All that seems to be at risk of ending. Blade was originally slated for release this year, but has been delayed internally to late next year and has gone over budget. Despite this, Blade is a highly anticipated game, and recently Todd Howard of Bethesda had commented that he had seen what they were making and was impressed.
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Image Source: Bethesda
Arkane is one of the five studios that have been mentioned as potentially closing, including Ninja Theory, Undead Labs, Compuslion, and Double Fine. The move to close is not necessarily one of those wild decisions that don’t seem to make sense to people, since these studios have struggled to find success lately. The bewildering feeling comes from featuring some of their games in an Xbox Summer Showcase that reenergized fans, only to list their games and studios as being considered for cutting. They did so, at least in the case of Senua from Ninja Theory, in the hopes of generating interest for buyers; however, reporting indicates that Ninja Theory may not have been aware of this.
Xbox is in precarious waters. Price increases have contributed to dismal console sales across the board, and the Xbox Series has year-to-year performed worse in sales than Sony and Nintendo. The worst part of all this is the countless lives upended by short-term-gain decisions made by wealthy people. With recent reporting suggesting the tech industry's price woes will be the norm for a while, this is likely only the beginning of a sad time for the industry.
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Source(s): IGN
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