// PC GAMER — GAMING
French game union accuses Microsoft of 'sabotaging' Blade and then using the fallout to justify closing Arkane
The STJV union says Microsoft imposed hiring freezes at Arkane that resulted in delays and additional expenses, which it then cited as reasons for shutting it down.
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"After freezing hiring for 19 months, which artificially caused delays and additional cost, Microsoft now uses those same delays and additional costs as a reason to close down the studio."
France's Syndicat des Travailleureuses du Jeu Vidéo (STJV) union has accused Microsoft of sabotaging work on Marvel's Blade and then using the inevitable results to justify Arkane's closure.
The union said development of Blade "is going fine," and that the game is on par with Arkane's previous body of work, which includes the Dishonored series, Prey, Deathloop, and the sadly overlooked Dark Messiah of Might and Magic. Despite that, "workers have to face the harsh reality: our studio might get closed because, and only because, Microsoft decided to, even if that means sabotaging the game it funded."
"Microsoft chose to justify the closure on economic reasons," the union wrote. "But Microsoft is actually why those economic reasons even exist. Because after freezing hiring for 19 months, which artificially caused delays and additional cost, Microsoft now uses those same delays and additional costs as a reason to close down the studio."
Closing Arkane would defy "financial logic," the union claimed, as it would likely cost more money than just allowing it to finish Blade—and furthermore, it added, Arkane is profitable—"just not profitable enough for Microsoft."
"Microsoft is responsible for the situation Arkane is in today. Microsoft is responsible for the situation the workers are in today," the union said. "So Microsoft has to take full responsibility here and act accordingly."
While its "dearest wish" is to see Arkane "live on," STJV said the studio's future has to go beyond just completing Blade. And if that's not feasible and Arkane must close, it falls to Microsoft—"the company who decided that Arkane has to shut down"—to take care of the hundreds of lives it has thrown into turmoil. Given Microsoft's essentially limitless resources, the union believes the company has a moral obligation to go beyond the bare minimum required by law: "We will not allow the lives of Arkane Studios' workers to be destroyed without the company paying a fair price."
The union is not aiming low with its demands. First, "to give employees control over the decisions that shape their future" while acquisition negotiations are underway: