Ubisoft reportedly bids to buy Marvel's Blade studio Arkane from Xbox

Ubisoft has reportedly made an offer to buy Arkane, the studio behind Dishonored and the upcoming Marvel's Blade, from Microsoft.

Bloomberg's Jason Schreier reports that Ubisoft and at least two other companies have submitted bids for the French developer. The negotiations are undisclosed and at an early stage, according to the report.

No deal is done. Per Bloomberg, Xbox has "not yet come to an agreement with any potential buyer" and has also "weighed selling the studio to its management", which would let Arkane go independent.

This follows a rough stretch for the studio. Arkane's future was looking uncertain back in September, and Xbox later extended its deadline to "explore options" for the team. Microsoft is spinning out several of its developers as part of a "reset" under new leadership. Double Fine has already gone independent, while two agreements to save Hellblade developer Ninja Theory fell through.

Then there's Blade. Arkane has been working on it for years, and whatever state it's in, it needs new backing to get finished. Reports conflict on how much work is left, and Bloomberg's sources haven't settled that question.

Ubisoft would be an interesting fit. PC Gamer points to the shared stealth action DNA between Dishonored and Assassin's Creed, and both companies are based in France, which the outlet says matters when it comes to labor laws. It also notes Ubisoft, much like Microsoft, has a reputation for shutting down teams and canceling games.

Microsoft is reportedly looking to offload Arkane in the coming weeks, so an answer on who ends up with the studio, and with Blade, may not be far off.