Don’t Nod Announces Profits In the First Half Of 2022 With Eight Games In Production

Don’t Nod, formerly known as Dontnod Entertainment, is a French game publisher and developer. It is known for developing Life Is Strange, a single-player adventure series, in collaboration with Square Enix.

Founded in 2008, Don’t Nod had a rocky start in the industry. Despite initial success with Remember Me, an action adventure, in 2013, the studio could not return profits and kept on accumulating debts. It got to a point where the studio’s debts had to be restructured through judicial intervention.

Don’t Nod’s first real success came with the release of Life Is Strange in 2015. The game’s success earned the studio a much-needed report within the industry.

But the financial vows of the studio did not subside forcing them to go public. This, in addition to the partnership with various studios, helped Don’t Nod turn over a period of financial bankruptcy.

MAJOR TAKEAWAYS

• Don’t Nod, a Paris-based studio known for Life Is Strange, has announced an increase in assets in the first half of 2022.
• It also announced that eight games are in production, 5 of which it will self-publish.
• The games will be released between 2023 and 2025.

Owing to healthy finances, Don’t Nod has announced that they have eight games in production in a financial report for the first half of 2022.

They will publish and develop 5 of those games themselves, while the rest will be co-produced with Focus Entertainment, Tolima, and Tiny Bull. The games will all be released between 2023 and 2025.

CEO of Don’t Nod, Oskar Guilbert, talking about the studio’s plans, said

Our teams are fully committed to the ramp-up of production and we now possess a rich pipeline that will be a strong driver of value creation for the next three years. After two years focusing on capital expenditure, international roll-out, and the ramp-up of the marketing and publishing departments, in 2023 the Group will cross a further milestone in its development and start stepping up the pace of releases.”

Don’t Nod reported an increase of almost €2m, at €14.9m, in operating revenues as compared to the first half of 2021. With capitalizing productions generating the bulk of the revenue at €11.4m.

While 34% of the profits were earned through a game co-produced with Focus Entertainment. Don’t Nod saw a decrease in royalties, as the studio hasn’t released a game since 2020.

Earnings before income and tax (EBIT) also increased for Don’t Nod, tripling from last year. It was expected because of the money spent on a recruitment drive and increased staff costs. The studio also saw its consolidated net income increase from €0.4m last year to €1.7m this year.

Don’t Nod increased its net assets from €96m in 2021 to €98m in 2022. While the “robust cash” stood at €46m, a decrease of almost €12m from 2021. The decrease was due to increased expenditures on games being developed, published, and co-produced.

The studio hopes to carry this momentum going forward and it bets on the success of the games in its production line.

Will this new approach help Don’t Nod consolidate its position in the gaming industry? Give us your valuable opinions in the comments section.