Arkane union accuses Xbox over Blade 'sabotage'

STJV, the French union representing workers at Arkane, has accused Xbox of "sabotaging" the development of Marvel's Blade by imposing a 19-month ban on hiring new staff. The union says work on the game is going fine and that the expected quality is in line with what Arkane has accustomed its players to. It acknowledges internal delays but alleges these were artificially caused by Microsoft, because Arkane was prevented from hiring new developers for more than a year.

The statement comes as Xbox considers closing Arkane entirely, although it was reported the day before that the company is also taking bids from potential buyers, including Ubisoft. The union says the studio might be closed because, and only because, Microsoft decided so, even if that means sabotaging the game it funded. STJV describes the decision as the application of a never-ending search for maximum profit optimisation, adding that Arkane is profitable, just not profitable enough for Microsoft.

The union has listed demands for Xbox, including giving Arkane a say in who would potentially acquire the studio and a higher redundancy payout should it be closed. Arkane says the redundancy currently offered by Xbox is outrageously low. The studio makes clear it would like to remain open and continue development on Blade, arguing that closing Arkane today would probably be more expensive than finishing the game. Xbox had not responded to the claims at the time of publication.