Arkane Lyon Has 3 Weeks to Find a Buyer or Face Closure

Arkane Lyon, the French studio behind Dishonored and DEATHLOOP, has about three weeks to find a new owner. According to a report by Le Monde published on October 23, Microsoft’s search for a buyer expires on November 13 — and if nobody steps in, one of the most respected studios in the industry could close its doors.

The deadline comes from France’s Florange Law. The 2014 law requires large companies to spend at least three months looking for a buyer before shutting down a site. Microsoft informed Arkane Lyon of its divestment decision on July 16, Le Monde reports, which started the legal countdown. The studio’s 217 employees learned the news the day before Xbox CEO Asha Sharma announced closure or spinoff plans for Ninja Theory, Compulsion Games, Double Fine Productions and Undead Labs — part of a July restructuring that affected more than 1,600 jobs across Microsoft’s gaming business.

Talks are not going well

A union representative told Le Monde that “negotiations on the redundancy plan are going badly.” The union is pushing for affected staff to be re-employed at other Xbox studios, and it has not ruled out taking Microsoft to court. The current round of negotiations ends on October 30. An internal document seen by Le Monde schedules a complete and definitive end to the studio’s activities from the end of 2026 into the first quarter of 2027 if the closure goes ahead.

Microsoft’s public position is softer. The company says it is “actively seeking a partner to support the next phase of development and enable the commercialization of the project,” but it offered no timetable. The union argues Microsoft wants to divest a studio that is doing well in order to save money and improve the profitability of its short-term investments.

More than jobs at stake

What hangs in the balance is bigger than one office. Arkane Lyon created Dishonored, Dishonored 2 and DEATHLOOP, and it is the studio developing Marvel’s Blade. Microsoft already shut down its sister studio, Arkane Austin, in 2024 following Redfall. If no buyer appears by November 13, the Lyon team could follow the same path — this time leaving a Marvel game unfinished on the table.