Bad news for Blade fans. It sounds like Marvel’s Blade video game is in serious trouble. So much so that it’s in active danger of being canceled entirely. This according to a new report from The Verge, which reveals that Microsoft’s Arkane Studios, which is behind the game, is getting caught in the crosshairs of some reductions at the company.
The Blade video game was first announced in December 2023. Arkane is developing the game, which is to be published by Bethesda. As the report reveals, Microsoft is currently weighing closing at least five studios amidst a huge round of layoffs that will impact its Xbox gaming studios. Arkane is one of those companies.
Microsoft reportedly wants to cancel the Blade game entirely in a cost-saving effort. The other option being explored is a sale of Arkane. Should that happen, it might save the game. Might is the keyword there, unfortunately. The report also notes that the game is way over budget. Originally set to release in late 2026, its release window is now expected to be late 2027, if it comes out at all.
Here is the synopsis for Marvel’s Blade.
“Marvel’s Blade game will take players to a quarantined section of Paris in the middle of a supernatural emergency. Vampires have emerged, terrorizing the city of lights and forcing Parisians to shelter inside their homes at night to wait for sunrise.”
This is just the latest blow to Marvel in the video game department. Just last year, EA’s Black Panther video game was canceled. In recent years, games like Marvel’s Avengers and Midnight Suns also dramatically underperformed commercially. Meanwhile, Marvel 1943: The Rise of Hydra has been delayed as well, with no current release date set.
On the plus side, Marvel’s Wolverine is finally coming out this fall for the PlayStation 5. Elsewhere, an Iron Man game is in development at EA. However, updates on that title have been few and far between since it was announced a couple of years ago.
At the same time, the Blade franchise, in general, almost seems to be cursed. A Blade movie reboot starring Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali was announced at San Diego-Comic Con in 2019. That project has been hit with multiple setbacks, being delayed by Marvel Studios multiple times. Multiple directors have exited the project and it remains without a release date for the time being.
Marvel’s Blade video game remains without a release date but stay tuned.
What do you think? Are you excited for the game? Are you worried it will be canceled? Join in on the conversation over on Facebook or Twitter!
