Union workers at Arkane Studios claim owner Microsoft has sabotaged the development of its Marvel's Blade game and used the resulting costs and delays as justification to close the studio.
A scathing new letter from the Syndicat des Travailleureuses du Jeu Vidéo (STJV) video game union worries "Arkane Studios might close without having ever seen failure." (Microsoft previously closed US dev Arkane Austin following the failure of Redfall, a live service game that the single-player-focused studio was evidently saddled with under Xbox leadership.)
"Our studio might get closed because, and only because, Microsoft decided to, even if that means sabotaging the game it funded," the union claims.
"Microsoft chose to close Arkane," the letter adds. "Microsoft chose to justify the closure on economic reasons. But Microsoft is actually why those economic reasons even exist. Because after freezing hiring for 19 months, which artificially caused delay and additional cost, Microsoft now use those same delay and additional cost as a reason to close down the studio."
The union claims Arkane is understaffed, underfunded, and unfairly assessed, and calls "the resources provided in the redundancy plan" proposed "outrageously low." The union is demanding employee representation and a say "in the discussion to choose a potential buyer," as well as "a protection fund for employees on the level of the PSE compensation in case workers get fired for economic reasons."
If Arkane does close, the union demands employee compensation "commensurate with Microsoft’s status as a corporation," which it tallies at "a redundancy payment of 200K€, two years’ redeployment support funded by Microsoft," and "shared resources for training and studio creation, with a residual bonus to enable all employees to look to the future with confidence."
The letter calls supporting Arkane staff the bare minimum that Microsoft can do "with a net profit of more than 133 [billion] dollars in the past years." In its latest quarterly report, Microsoft reported $36.6 billion in net income, an increase of 32% on a GAAP basis.
"Arkane cash pool is always low as any remaining cash is systematically funneled to the group through a cash pooling mechanic," the letter continues. Additionally, the union seems to say the books are stacked against them, arguing that Arkane's previous games, "which combined have sold [tens] of millions, aren't anywhere to be found in the company results."
"Arkane is profitable. Just not profitable enough for Microsoft," the union says. "So indeed, Microsoft is responsible for the situation Arkane is in today. Microsoft is responsible for the situation the workers are in today. So Microsoft has to take full responsibility here and act accordingly."
Importantly, the union also claims that "closing Arkane today would probably be more expensive than finishing the game." On top of closing costs, this is surely a nod to the added costs associated with France's strong labor laws. "Fortunately, French law gives Arkane Studios the opportunity to find a buyer," the letter notes.
The letter also indicates that Blade is close to completion, which aligns with some previous reports.
"Today, as work on Blade is going fine, and that the level of quality of the game to be expected is on par with what Arkane has accustomed its players [to], workers have to face the harsh reality," the union says.
"We want to finish Blade and release it to the players, as well as the many games the future holds for Arkane. This is our dearest wish. But let’s not deny what we know is [real]: we want a future for the studio that goes beyond Blade, not to continue no matter what the cost may be for the workers."
The letter reiterates that Arkane will have no choice but to close if no buyer can be found, cutting loose 217 employees. I've reached out to Microsoft for comment.
Just yesterday, it was reported that Ubisoft is among at least three companies that have bid on the studio. As the STJV notes here, the deadline to find a buyer was extended by one month by Microsoft – an extension which, the union says, came "after we warned the press about the situation."
Xbox says "two separate agreements" to save Hellblade developer Ninja Theory have fallen through
