We have new information about Arkane Studios’ upcoming game, Marvel’s Blade. And it comes from the unlikeliest source.
While it was shared on the GamingLeaksAndRumours subreddit by user AngieK22, the first person who really shared it online was French journalist Kilian Fichou. And Fichou revealed that he found out about this in a report written by Denis Masséglia, a member of France’s National Assembly.
Masséglia wrote a report on Crédit d’Impôt Jeu Vidéo, France’s video game tax credit program. In this report, Masséglia revealed that more French video game developers have been availing of tax credits since they made amendments to the program in 2017.
Here’s what Masséglia’s report said about Arkane Studios:
Cette dynamique devrait se poursuivre au regard des jeux ambitieux agréés depuis 2023, à l’image d’un nouveau jeu produit par Arkane Studios agréé en 2023 à plus de 94 millions d’euros de budget pour 91 millions d’euros de dépenses en France de 2023 à 2026.
Arkane Studios is an example of the increased spending and investment in video games since 2023. Masséglia revealed that a new Arkane project received a budget of €94 million, and €91 million out of that budget had already been spent from 2023 to 2026.
Masséglia did not identify Marvel’s Blade by name, so yes, there is a possibility that this isn’t the game that they are referring to. But we think you’ll agree that it’s most highly likely that Marvel’s Blade is the game that they are referring to.
While this wasn’t Masséglia’s intention with the report, it does seem to be reassuring for fans who were worried about its status. Microsoft have been quietly laying off developers and cancelling games over the past month, and because Microsoft has been stoic in its silence, fans had no idea what games and developers were safe and which ones were vulnerable.
What was particularly worrying was the rumor that Zenimax Online Studios cancelled their big budget MMO shooter Blackbird. This game seems to be much bigger than Marvel’s Blade, so it made it appear like no project was safe.
And Marvel being a partner on this game doesn’t seem to protect it from cancellation either. EA cancelled Marvel’s Black Panther, and shut down its studio, Cliffhanger Games, around the same time Microsoft was also having layoffs.
It’s not just that we know that Marvel’s Blade has a decent budget. (As of this writing, €94 million is equivalent to over $109 million.) It’s also the knowledge that Arkane and Microsoft are being responsible, taking advantage of the French tax credit program. We don’t know if that will protect the game and Arkane Studios from cancellation and closure, but Microsoft now knows that the French government is paying attention to this project – and now, so do the rest of us.
