Gaming fans of the Marvel universe were treated with a special surprise recently during The Game Awards 2023. Dishonored and Deathloop developer Arkane Lyon announced that the studio is working on a new single-player, third-person action game.
The new game titled Marvel’s Blade revolves around the legendary vampire hunter Blade. The devs took the opportunity to launch a brief trailer of Marvel’s Blade at the event. The trailer featured the Daywalker gearing up to hunt down vampires on the blood-soaked streets of Paris.
The announcement of the AAA title was enough to have the fans all excited and on the edge of their seats to know more about the upcoming game. On the other hand, the recent announcement has led to some confusion regarding the platforms that Marvel’s Blade will be available on.
While the trailer does not mention anything, nor did the developer mention anything in specific, adding to the confusion. The publisher Bethesda also declined to comment on the issue since after its announcement at the awards.
Nonetheless, it is a known fact that Microsoft owns both Bethesda and Arkane Lyon. Microsoft purchased their parent company ZeniMax Media back in 2021. This might mean that Blade could possibly be exclusive to Xbox consoles and PCs.
Will Marvel’s Blade be an Xbox Exclusive?
Recently an Xbox insider confirmed that Blade game will be an Xbox console exclusive. Nick Baker on his X handle ‘Shpeshal Nick’ responded to the confusion regarding the Blade platform confusion. He reposted an article from gaming journalist Paul Tassi on X.
Paul wrote, “No One Seems To Know If Arkane’s ‘Blade’ Game Is Xbox Exclusive,” followed by a link to his Forbes article. To this, Nick replied “I do. It is,” thus claiming that Blade will be an Xbox exclusive.
I do. It is. https://t.co/uwcMXZA43e
— “Good guesser” Nick (@Shpeshal_Nick) December 8, 2023
This led to Paul question as to why neither Bethesda nor Arkane Lyon have confirmed this. Notably, Nick confirmed the exclusivity of the game on multiple different threads.
Meanwhile, Twitteratis have their possible justifications for the studios’ silence. Some said it could be because Blade is still in its early development stage, others cited the ongoing legal debates surrounding Microsoft’s recent acquisition of Activision Blizzard could be the reason.
A strong reason why Blade will be exclusive to Xbox consoles is because Microsoft will look at boosting the subscriptions to Xbox Game Pass. Releasing the game on competitor platforms like PlayStation 5 would not make much sense since PS5 already has its list of exclusive Marvel such as Insomniac’s Spider-Man series as well as the upcoming Marvel’s Wolverine.
That being said, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella recently expressed his displeasure with console exclusivity. Thus the possibility of Blade being released as a multi-platform title cannot be completely brushed off either.
When is Marvel’s Blade Game releasing?
Currently, Marvel’s Blade from Arkane Lyons does not have a release date or even a release window. Considering the game is still in early development, it is safe to assume that it is not coming anytime before 2025 or late 2024 at the least.
If Marvel’s Blade is indeed targeting 2025 for its release, the year is going to be massive for Blade fans. A film on Blade is already in the works and MCU Blade film is slated for a November 7, 2025 release. The release of the film on the same character is the perfect opportunity for the game developers to release the game around the same time.
Experts are of the opinion that it would be a huge missed opportunity for Marvel not to coordinate the release of the upcoming game with the release of the Blade film.