Ubisoft Reportedly Bids for Arkane Lyon as Xbox Looks for a New Owner
Ubisoft has reportedly made a bid to buy Arkane Lyon, the French studio behind Dishonored and Deathloop, from Microsoft's Xbox division. Bloomberg, where the report was attributed to Jason Schreier, published the news on 3 November 2026.
The same report says at least two other gaming companies have also placed bids for the studio. Neither the other bidders nor the price has been made public so far.
Arkane Lyon makes single-player games, the kind played through alone from start to finish, and it is now working on Marvel's Blade. Xbox is looking for a development partner, a company that shares the work of building a game, to help finish that project, according to IGN, which reported the search on 26 October 2026. The studio had until 13 November to find a new owner. Microsoft has since extended that deadline by one month.
The search is a change of direction for Arkane's parent. Microsoft shut down Arkane Austin, a separate Arkane studio in Texas, and Tango Gameworks in May 2024, as IGN reported at the time. Arkane Lyon was not part of those closures. Its future now depends on whether a buyer or partner comes forward before the new deadline.
For players, the most visible question is Marvel's Blade. Whoever ends up working on the game would take on a title already in development. Ubisoft has not been named as the winning bidder.
Ubisoft is a major publisher, with a long run of franchises including Assassin's Creed and Far Cry. Acquisitions of this size often face review by competition regulators, such as the UK's Competition and Markets Authority or the US Federal Trade Commission, before they can close. Any deal would need to clear that process, and no deal has been announced.
For now, the facts are simple. A French studio with a well-known pair of games is up for sale, several companies want it, and Xbox has given itself a little more time to decide.
