So, Marvel’s Blade is still a thing, right? Arkane Lyon wants you to remember that, as the French-based studio has provided an update of the next Marvel gaming project that’s not called “Wolverine”.
And the update is, well, it exists, it is in development and it is coming. Eventually. They promise.
Don’t take this the wrong way, we obviously believe them and we are cheering for them, of course: Blade is one of Marvel’s most entertaining characters — a no nonsense, katana wielding vampire hunter who’s a bonafide vampire himself is always looking good in my book.
But when asked by an Arkane-based account on X/Twitter for an update — any update — Co-Creative Director Dinga Bakaba could’ve given us a little more spice with this Holiday feast news piece:
What Marvel’s Blade will be about
Well, it’s gonna be about Blade, for starters. Not much is known about the game besides the titular character and some broad info on its setting: the game will take place in a quarantine zone in Paris, France, where Blade…kills vampires.
According to bits of information here and there, these vampires are all from the same congregation — or serve one congregation — and set their bloodlusty sights on the capital of France, effectively forcing humans into their homes for safety while they wait for sunlight to come out.
Now, it is unclear whether the entire game takes place in one night, or if the whole “wait for sunlight” thing is just a set piece. What we do know is that, as he is known as the “Daywalker”, Blade (real name Eric Brooks) will have some abilities that the other vampires don’t have.
Meanwhile, his dual origin as a dhampir (in Balkan mythos, the child resulting of a union between a vampire and a human) and how Blade is an individual of both heritages but belonging to none might serve as a drama piece on the narrative part.
Arkane Studios has had to do some damage control when the majority of lay offs started hitting the industry over the past two years, stating that whatever people they have let go would not impact the game’s deadline…which we don’t know what it is for now.
Another detail we’re not fully aware of is “platforms”: Arkane is a Bethesda Game Studios proprietary brand (they’ve worked on Deathloop before Blade’s development started, and Dishonored before that) — and Bethesda itself was acquired by Microsoft in March, 2021.
So, technically, this could be an Xbox exclusive game, or maybe even come out as an Xbox Series S|X and PC offer, leaving PlayStation out. However, given the recent shift of formerly exclusive Microsoft brands making their way to Sony’s platforms, this probably won’t be the case.
