Xbox and Bethesda's Arkane Lyon reveals Marvel's Blade during the Game Awards 2023

Marvel's Blade Arkane Lyon
(Image credit: Bethesda Softworks)

What you need to know

  • Arkane Lyon, the developer behind Bethesda Softworks titles like Dishonored 2 and Deathloop, is working on Marvel's Blade.
  • The news broke during the Game Awards 2023, where a trailer showed the infamous Marvel vampire killer.
  • Update: A previous version of this article wrote that Blade is an Xbox Series X|S console exclusive and heading to Xbox Game Pass, however, there's no current official evidence that this is the case. We regret the error, and have asked Microsoft to clarify. 

Xbox players have another vampire-hunting game to look forward to.

During the Game Awards 2023, Arkane Lyon showed up to reveal Marvel's Blade, a game based on the iconic Daywalker of the same name. As a half-vampire himself, Blade has a number of special abilities that aid him in his pursuit of killing vampires, though Blade is capable of walking in sunlight and suppressing his hunger for blood. Check out the announcement trailer below:

Marvel's Blade is a radical departure for Arkane Lyon

Arkane Lyon, one half of Arkane Studios under the Bethesda Softworks publishing wing at Xbox, has worked on a number of games in the past such as Dishonored 2 and most recently Deathloop. While these games were first-person titles focused on stealth and dynamic systems due to being immersive sims, Marvel's Blade is a fairly radical departure, with director and studio head Dinga Bakaba confirming that it will be a third-person game. 

“As a kid of mixed origins, I felt a special connection to Blade—a hero with a dual heritage himself,” said Bakaba. “The opportunity to put our spin on this character is a dream of mine and a challenge that our team embraces with a passion. We couldn’t be happier to put players in Blade’s boots, as he becomes the champion of my hometown of Paris, one stake at a time.”

Update: As Arkane Lyon is an Xbox studio, Marvel's Blade could be exclusive to Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC, and will most likely launch day one on Xbox Game Pass. However, Microsoft has clarified neither at the this time. We have reached out to Microsoft to comment. 

Analysis: No ice-skating uphill with this one

I'm totally down for a Blade game, and it I'm curious how Arkane Lyon will be adapting to work on this game. While Deathloop still carried the DNA of its Dishonored predecessors, this seems like it'll be very different, so I'm looking forward to seeing how everything plays out.

It's also really cool that Xbox fans are potentially going to get an exclusive superhero game, giving Xbox an answer to Spider-Man on PlayStation. I know that's something that players have wanted, so, if true, it could be a big deal for the Xbox brand. On the flip side, if this game is not exclusive, it will only serve to fuel on-going rumors that Microsoft wants to wind down its console hardware platform, and eventually go fully third-party like Sega did in yesteryear. 

In any case, be sure you don't miss out on any of the other gaming news coming out tonight with our The Game Awards 2023 live blog!

CATEGORIES
Samuel Tolbert
Freelance Writer

Samuel Tolbert is a freelance writer covering gaming news, previews, reviews, interviews and different aspects of the gaming industry, specifically focusing on Xbox and PC gaming on Windows Central. You can find him on Twitter @SamuelTolbert.

Read more
South of Midnight, Doom: The Dark Ages, and Clair Obscur 33 headline the January '25 Xbox Developer_Direct.
Everything Xbox announced during the January 2025 Developer_Direct
Woman from Ninja Gaiden 4.
Ninja Gaiden 4 is the mystery game revealed during Xbox Developer_Direct, published by Xbox
DOOM: The Dark Ages Slayer
DOOM: The Dark Ages is set to unleash brutal medieval action, and I'm here for it
Ryu Hayabusa in Ninja Gaiden 4
Ninja Gaiden 4 on Xbox started talks "six or seven years ago," says Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer
Marvel's Blade, GTA VI, Monster Hunter Wilds
Upcoming Xbox games: Best new Xbox Series X|S games for 2025, and beyond
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
How to watch the Xbox Developer Direct 2025: Start time, what to expect, and everything you need to know
Latest in Xbox
Spongebob meme with Xbox logo, Steam logo, and PlayStation logo
Would PlayStation block its PC Steam games from running on a future Windows-based PC-like Xbox? Let's discuss.
The Thing: Remastered key art
The Thing comes to Xbox Cloud Gaming's "Stream Your Own Game" library alongside other new arrivals
Cover art for Heroes of the Storm.
Xbox Game Pass will give you more benefits in free-to-play games like Heroes of the Storm
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 accessibility settings at launch.
Activision user research workers form union under Microsoft
Xbox Game Hubs 2025
A quick look at Xbox's new "Game Hubs," a small new feature that may be more meaningful than you think
8BitDo Retro 87 Mechanical Keyboard Xbox Edition
Drop everything — the Xbox keyboard is on sale
Latest in News
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Zombies mode screenshots for Shattered Veil map.
The next Call of Duty Zombies map, "Shattered Veil", is dropping earlier than expected
Helldivers 2
The new Helldivers 2 Illuminate Major Order is so important that we got a new stratagem for it
Hogwarts Legacy troll hero image
Hogwarts Legacy DLC reportedly canceled by WB Games
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege
Rumored Ubisoft and Tencent agreement comes to fruition with 25% stake and new division for the Assassin's Creed developer
In-game screenshot of the player consuming an enemy in Shadow Labyrinth
This isn't your grandpa's Pac-Man — Bandai Namco's iconic character gets a gritty new action game this Summer
Key art for Dragon Quest 1 and 2 HD-2D remake
Every PC and Xbox game shown off during Nintendo Direct March 2025