Ubisoft intends to buy Dishonored creators — media

A potential acquisition of Arkane by Ubisoft is raising certain concerns against the backdrop of the French company's own troubles.

Ubisoft has reportedly made an offer to acquire Arkane Lyon, the studio best known for Dishonored and Deathloop. At the same time, at least two other gaming companies have also shown interest in acquiring the developer.

This was reported by Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier. According to his sources, several potential buyers have already submitted bids to acquire the studio. In addition to Ubisoft, at least two other unnamed companies are taking part in the bidding.

The potential sale of Arkane Lyon is linked to a large-scale restructuring at Xbox led by CEO Asha Sharma. As part of this process, Microsoft is cutting staff, merging divisions, and considering spinning off certain studios from the corporation.

Moreover, according to Bloomberg, Xbox is open to the option of selling Arkane directly to its management. In that scenario, the developer could become an independent company, similar to Double Fine and Compulsion Games.

The future of Marvel's Blade, a game announced back in 2023, also hinges on the fate of Arkane Lyon. It remains unknown how a potential change of ownership might affect the project’s development. It is also unclear who would receive the rights to Dishonored and Deathloop in the event of a sale. However, Xbox has previously allowed some departing studios to retain their own intellectual property franchises.

In recent months, Ubisoft has been carrying out a major restructuring, shutting down studios, laying off employees, and cancelling games. Among the cancelled projects was the remake of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, which, according to media reports, was in the late stages of development.