Arkane Studios’ Blade project has been surrounded by uncertainty in recent months. The game did not reappear at this year's Xbox Games Showcase and with Microsoft set to announce another round of layoffs across the Xbox division soon, the lack of official news on Blade has led to concern that the game could be cancelled, or Arkane could be closed down. However, there are still signs of life for the Blade project.

A newly published Entertainment Weekly interview offers at least a small update on Blade. Although the piece went live in mid‑June, the interview itself took place back in May, and during that conversation Bethesda’s Todd Howard said he had seen Blade “just yesterday” and that Arkane is “doing a really great job”. Howard did not elaborate further, but his comments indicate that the project was still in active development very recently.

Howard primarily oversees Bethesda Game Studios, but he does occasionally check in on projects across Bethesda’s other studios. He was notably involved with MachineGames’ Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, which launched to strong reviews in 2024, so his awareness of Blade isn’t unusual.

With that said, the broader situation remains unclear. Xbox and Arkane have not provided an official update since the game’s first teaser, which contained no gameplay or release window.

KitGuru Says: I hope development on Blade continues. Unfortunately, we still don't know the full breadth of Microsoft's cost-cutting plans for Xbox. So far, only Ninja Theory, Double Fine and Compulsion Games are confirmed to be involved but there are likely to be some cuts across Zenimax (Bethesda parent company) too.

After hosting what many fans agreed was a solid Xbox Games Showcase earlier this month, Microsoft / Xbox have since found themselves surrounded by seemingly nothing but bad news. Alongside concerns of rising component costs, mixed messaging regarding console exclusives and more, insiders are now claiming that multiple Xbox studios could be on their way to being shut down soon including Arkane and Compulsion Games.

Following their recent summer games showcase, Microsoft have been talking quite a bit on the future of Xbox, referring to the next 100 days being a “reset” for the console maker while speaking candidly on some of the issues which the platform is facing.

In amongst all of this, multiple insiders have indicated that these changes could include a number of studio closures, with Mike Straw of Insider-Gaming claiming that both Arkane and Compulsion Games are “scared” and showing “real concern” that their studios could be shut down as part of these plans.

With regards to the latter, Kotaku’s Rebekah Valentine reported that Compulsion Games are indeed on the chopping block – although leadership at the studio is currently “in ‘negotiations’ with Microsoft over the studio’s fate”. Compulsion Games is of course known for their work on We Happy Few as well as the more recent South of Midnight.

While Arkane Austin was shut down back in 2024, their main studio – Lyon – has continued to operate and are supposedly currently working on the much-anticipated ‘Marvel’s Blade’. For context, Arkane Lyon is/was the more tenured of the two halves, being responsible for the likes of Dishonored 2; Deathloop and, as mentioned, the upcoming Blade.

Whether these studio closures will come to be or not, we will have to wait and see. That said, there is no denying that Microsoft / Xbox is planning a ton of changes over the coming months.

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KitGuru says: What do you think of Xbox under Asha Sharma’s leadership? Have you been looking forward to Marvel’s Blade? Let us know down below.