After much speculation and rumors about the future of Arkane, Bethesda Game Studio’s Todd Howard has given fans a positive update regarding the development of the mysterious Marvel’s Blade. Despite a very positive Xbox Showcase earlier in June, the current landscape for Microsoft’s gaming division is a bit up in the air as the company attempts to solidify its future. While some games and studios appear to be on the chopping block, rumors continued to swirl about Marvel’s Blade and its potential future.
The future of Microsoft’s gaming division is very much in flux as Xbox CEO Asha Sharma is aiming for a brand reset, which has seemingly implied layoffs, restructuring, and game cancellations. Layoffs are expected to occur sometime in July, while other veterans like Treyarch’s Mark Gordon have already left. Rumors are also swirling that some studios and their games could be on the chopping block, such as South of Midnight‘s Compulsion Games, Double Fine, and even Hellblade‘s Ninja Theory. For now, nothing is yet official, but it hasn’t stopped fans from worrying about what it could mean for other projects, including the mysterious Blade game in development at Arkane.
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Todd Howard Has Good News for Blade Fans
Part of the anxiety surrounding Marvel’s Blade is just how little is known about the game. A collaboration between Arkane and Marvel, Blade was originally teased in 2023 with a stylish announcement trailer, though it offered very little in terms of details. The 1-minute trailer showed the popular character in Paris about to get a shave before things went seemingly wrong. Despite fears of the project being canceled, Bethesda’s Todd Howard has given fans some hope thanks to a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly.
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In a special Xbox at 25 feature, Todd Howard was asked about some of the more mysterious titles in development, even calling Elder Scrolls 6 “our biggest project right now” and that the studio is well aware that it needs to get it right. In regards to Arkane Studios and its work on Marvel’s Blade, Howard admitted he wasn’t at liberty to say when the game would be shown off again. Despite that, Howard was optimistic that the team was heading in the right direction, saying, “but I saw some stuff just yesterday [on May 21] and the folks at Arkane [Studios, the developers] are doing a really, really great job.”
While there isn’t a ton to go on, Arkane seems to have the approval of leadership, especially since Howard’s original comment seemed to come back in May, so the studio has had nearly a month’s more time since. Part of the fear surrounding the projects future is the rumored budget, with Marvel’s Blade reportedly costing approximately $109 million to develop. For a company like MIcrosoft, who is attempting to “reset” its Xbox business and a game that hasn’t revealed much of anything, it seemed like Marvel’s Blade could be an easy project to dump.
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In fact, following the Xbox news and the lack of an appearance at the June Showcase, many assumed Marvel’s Blade was heading towards outright cancelation. The cancellation fears got so loud in June that Arkane’s lead concept artist, Jean-Luc Monnet, responded on Twitter to a fan asking for some sort of update. Using a GIF of Walter White from Breaking Bad, Monnet’s message was “let us cook,” giving fans hope that everything remained well at Arkane and the project was continuing to progress smoothly. Combined with Howard’s recent quote, it appears that Marvel’s Blade is on track, though when fans may see the game again is anyone’s guess.
- Publisher(s)
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Bethesda Softworks
- Engine
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Void Engine
- Franchise
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Marvel
