Dishonored co-creator asks Xbox CEO 'how much' to buy Arkane

Polygon RSS Feed✍ Willa Rowe📅 July 6, 2026⏱ 2 min read(about 1 month ago)

Overview & Key Takeaways

Arkane, the studio behind Dishonored and more, has its future in question as Xbox cuts 4 other studios and lays off 3,200.

The future of Arkane Studios, the developer behind Dishonored and the in-development Marvel's Blade, is uncertain. Xbox announced on Monday major changes to the company, including 3,200 layoffs and multiple studios either going independent or finding new owners. Arkane is a bit of a different story, as Xbox must follow French labor laws that require a lengthier process to determine what will happen next. One man, however, is already looking to buy.

In response to Xbox CEO Asha Sharma's lengthy X post announcing the many changes coming to Xbox, including Arkane's fate, studio founder Raphaël Colantonio asked, "how much?" Colantonio is, very likely, just joking, as he finishes his response by saying he is "asking for a friend" before ending with an emoji of a face with its tongue out. In addition to co-founding Arkane, Colantonio also co-created Dishonored and directed a number of the studio's projects, such as Arx Fatalis and Prey.

Colantonio left Arkane in 2017 and announced a new studio, WolfEye Studios, in 2019 alongside former Arkane producer Julien Roby. The studio's first game, isometric action-RPG Weird West, was released in 2022. The game has its issues, but is an all-around enjoyable experience. Polygon's review noted, "There’ll be plenty of times when things don’t work out, or it all backfires and you end up burning yourself to death in a tiny wood cabin, but when it does all come together? It feels like magic." In 2025, Colantonio announced WolfEye was working on its second game, a first-person immersive-sim (the same genre as Dishonored).

While Colantonio's question to Sharma on X seems more like a joke than the beginnings of anything real, fans are flocking to the post. "Please sell it to this man," says one user. Another only posts a gif of Homer Simpson clasping his hands and saying, "Please, please, please." What this really shows is the desire from fans to see Arkane find new leadership they perceive as better than Xbox.

The other studios affected by today's news face different fates. Compulsion Games and Double Fine Productions will become independent studios. Ninja Theory and Undead Labs have a new owner, though who exactly that is has not been announced.

It's been a tough few weeks for Team Green

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