It’s been a torrid couple of weeks forXbox:layoffs,studio closures,game cancellationsandeverything in between. Among the casualties are Perfect Dark, Everwild and an unannounced MMORPG from ZeniMax Online.
In that brief period where we knew the layoffs were coming but not who was affected, rumours were swirling about every subsidiary of Xbox Game Studios, includingArkane Studios. After all, not many believed Arkane Austin was in any danger, even with the failure of Redfall, but Xbox nonetheless shuttered the storied studio.
Blade Has Entered Full Production
Thankfully, Arkane Lyon appears to be unaffected by the recent turmoil. In fact, according to afinancial report(machine-translated from French), Marvel’s Blade entered full production at the end of 2024, presumably after a period of pre-production and prototyping.
Blade has been in development since the release of Deathloop (2021), which means Blade has had a lengthy pre-production phase. This isn’t necessarily a cause for concern, as a period of focused planning can make the production phase smoother and more efficient.
“The production phase of the AAA game project was able to commence at the end of 2024, after the validation of the prototype,” the report reads.
However, in all likelihood, Blade is further from release than people likely hoped when the game was announced in 2022. Regardless of how effective Blade’s pre-production was, a triple-A project still requires several years of full production.
Blade is a departure from Arkane, as the game will adopt a third-person camera rather than the first-person perspective the studio is known for. The game will see Eric ‘Blade’ Brooks enter a quarantined Parisian suburb to stop a group of vampires from invading the city.
An executive at Disney previously stated that Bethesda (i.e. Xbox) would be the ones to decide whether Blade is going to be an Xbox Series X/S console exclusive or multiplatform, as was the case for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.
Considering Indiana Jones was later released on PlayStation 5, and considering Xbox appears to be shifting away from exclusivity in general, Blade will likely release on PlayStation 5.
Marvel’s Blade has no set release date or window.
