What STJV is alleging
The union accuses Xbox of "sabotaging" Marvel's Blade with a 19-month ban on hiring new staff. STJV says work on the game is "going fine". It admits there were internal delays but says Microsoft "artificially caused" them by stopping Arkane from hiring developers for over a year.
STJV's own statement puts the argument in a loop. After freezing hiring for 19 months, which it says caused delay and additional cost, Microsoft is now citing that same delay and cost as a reason to close the studio.
The union goes further on money. In its French-language statement, it says:
- Arkane's earlier games, which sold tens of millions of copies in total, don't show up in the studio's results. That is why the studio looks like a "cost centre".
- Arkane's cash is constantly drained to the wider group through a cash-pooling mechanism.
- Closing the studio and cancelling Blade would probably cost more than finishing the game.
The statement gives no figures for any of these points, and Microsoft has published none to check them against. Treat them as the union's framing, not established fact.
The union's demands
STJV says the redundancy terms on offer are "outrageously low". Its statement also says French law gives Arkane the opportunity to find a buyer. The union says 217 employees would be affected by a closure. It adds that contractors, freelancers, and maintenance, security and cleaning staff also depend on the studio.
Its demands fall into two groups.
Control over the buyer
- Employees get a voice in choosing a buyer, through their works council (CSE) representatives and the unions. That goes beyond mere consultation.
- A protection fund, similar in size to the guarantees in a redundancy plan (PSE), covers workers if the buyer makes economic redundancies within 24 months of the acquisition.
If a redundancy plan goes ahead
- A €200,000 severance payment per worker.
- Two years of redeployment leave funded by Microsoft.
- Pooled training and business-creation support, with a residual bonus.
- Compensation for independent contractors left without work, set at the level of the employee severance.
The statement doesn't say what Microsoft is actually offering. We can't tell how far apart the two sides are.
How we got here
The process started in July. In a staff memo, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma said Arkane's management was beginning required consultation with its Works Council to review potential strategic options. Arkane was one of five studios Xbox said it would divest, with details withheld because of French legal requirements.
Later reporting added several developments:
- The sale deadline. Kotaku reported that the three-month period expires on November 13th.
- The extension. A Microsoft representative told PC Gamer the deadline would be extended, and that Microsoft might bring in help to get Blade across the finish line. STJV says it got that extra month after it warned the press, and that one month is not enough.
- The bids. Bloomberg's Jason Schreier reported that several companies had bid for Arkane Lyon. Ubisoft is the only one named, and VGC says bids from potential buyers, including Ubisoft, are on the table. A management buyout is reportedly also being considered.
No buyer has been announced, and the studio has not been formally closed. Blade has not been officially cancelled.
Two claims that shouldn't be blended
A separate claim about Blade's progress comes from other developers. Union representatives speaking to Le Monde said the game was "nearing the end" of development. That is a different group from STJV, and a stronger statement than STJV's "going fine".
Earlier reporting pulls the other way. The Verge reported that Blade was internally delayed at Xbox after going over budget. The union does not dispute the delays. It disputes who caused them.
Why this matters beyond one studio
This is a labour dispute inside a Microsoft subsidiary, and it sits inside Xbox's wider restructuring. Sharma's memo described a business that was not healthy, with margins 3–10x lower than comparable platform and publishing businesses. It said Xbox would simplify its management layers and reduce vendor spend.
French labour law also shapes how this plays out. It gives employee representatives a formal consultation role, and it creates a window for finding a buyer. Without that window, a closure announcement could simply have been issued.
What to watch
- November 13. The original buyer-search deadline has been extended by a month, so watch for a new date.
- Microsoft's reply. The company has not yet answered the hiring-freeze allegation.
- Bidder terms. It is unclear whether any bid covers Arkane's other IP, such as Dishonored and Deathloop, or the Blade licence.
- Redundancy terms. Microsoft's actual offer has not been published.
Both sides have a stake in the story. The union wants a buyer, better terms, and a say in who that buyer is. Microsoft wants to divest on its own schedule. Until Microsoft responds or a deal lands, the hiring-freeze charge remains an allegation.