It’s not a good week to be in the games industry (again). As Xbox reportedly prepare to either shutter or spin off Double Fine, Ninja Theory and Compulsion, Don’t Nod, original developer of the Life is Strange series, look to be in hot water of their own. As it currently stands, it appears that Don’t Nod will run out of cash come November this year.
This comes from a financial report completed by auditors this month (ta, IGN). While Don’t Nod have managed to put out five games in the past three years alone, more recent releases like Lost Records: Bloom & Rage and Aphelion don’t appear to have moved the needle quite enough. Part of their current issue is that minority stakeholder and tech giant Tencent don’t seem interested in providing any further funding, based on what the auditors wrote.
“Your chairman has informed us that he has been seeking additional financing for several months and that all avenues are being explored to improve the company’s cash position, whether through a capital increase or external financing for your game currently in development,” the auditors wrote.
“The company management informed us that, according to its cash flow forecasts, without additional financing and taking into account, among other things, revenue assumptions related to the marketing of a new game at the end of April 2026 [Aphelion] and cost savings that have not yet materialized, the company is expected to run out of cash during November 2026.”
The report further explains that there have been discussions with “major players in the video game industry for several months,” but these haven’t materialised into any kind of financing. Right now Don’t Nod are apparently looking for funding from another major partner, considering releasing their next unannounced game earlier than currently planned, or putting staff on work-for-hire projects as solutions for their cash issue, but nothing concrete has been locked in as of yet. Solidarity to staff at Don’t Nod as always.
