The union representing workers at Arkane has put the blame for the studio's possible closure squarely on Microsoft. According to VGC, the French union STJV accuses Xbox of "sabotaging" Marvel's Blade with a 19-month ban on hiring new staff. GamesRadar+ reports on the same letter and quotes it at length.
These are the union's claims, not established facts. VGC says Xbox had not responded to them when it published. The union has posted the letter on its own site, but this report rests on what the two outlets carry, so every claim below is credited to the outlet reporting it.
What the union says happened
The core of the argument is about cause and effect. VGC reports that STJV admits there have been internal delays on Blade, but says they were "artificially caused" because Microsoft prevented Arkane from hiring new developers for more than a year.
GamesRadar+ quotes the letter making that case directly: "after freezing hiring for 19 months, which artificially caused delay and additional cost, Microsoft now use those same delay and additional cost as a reason to close down the studio."
The line behind the headline is quoted by VGC. The union says the studio "might get closed because, and only because, Microsoft decided to, even if that means sabotaging the game it funded."
On the game itself, VGC quotes the union saying work on Blade is "going fine". GamesRadar+ reads the letter as a sign the game is close to completion. The union also says it would rather finish it: "We want to finish Blade and release it to the players," GamesRadar+ quotes.
The money argument
The union is also disputing the economics. "Arkane is profitable. Just not profitable enough for Microsoft," it says, in a line quoted by VGC.
GamesRadar+ reports two more strands of that argument. The letter says Arkane's cash is low because it is "systematically funneled to the group through a cash pooling mechanic", and that its earlier games aren't "anywhere to be found in the company results". VGC adds the union's claim that closing the studio "would probably be more expensive than finishing the game".
Neither report includes figures that would let a reader test those claims. The one hard number on Microsoft's side comes from GamesRadar+, which notes the company reported $36.6 billion in net income in its latest quarter.
What STJV wants
The demands split into two groups. If a buyer is found, the union wants staff to have a say in who it is. If the studio closes, it wants a much bigger exit package: GamesRadar+ lists a redundancy payment of €200,000 and two years of redeployment support funded by Microsoft, along with shared resources for training and setting up new studios. VGC reports the statement calling the redundancy on offer from Xbox "outrageously low".
The letter says 217 employees would be let go if no buyer is found, according to GamesRadar+.
Where this leaves Arkane
The studio's future is still open. VGC says Xbox is considering closing Arkane while also taking bids, and GamesRadar+ says Ubisoft is reported to be among at least three companies to have bid. GamesRadar+ also reports that Microsoft extended the deadline to find a buyer by a month, which the union says came "after we warned the press about the situation".
For players, the stake is plain enough. Arkane is the studio behind Dishonored and Prey, VGC notes, and Blade is the game now caught in the middle.
Mason's take: "Sabotage" is a heavy word, and I'd want to hear Microsoft's answer before accepting it. A freeze can be a cost decision without being a plan to sink a game. But the union's cleverest point isn't the word, it's the sequence. If a publisher limits a team and then judges that team on the results, it should expect to be asked about it. That's the question I'd most like to see Microsoft answer.
Reporting notes
