The traditional French brand DON’T NOD, world-renowned for its outstanding narrative work such as “Life is Strange” and the original part of “Dracula”, is now in dramatic crisis. As part of the recent financial announcements, those around CEO Oskar Guilbert announced a profound reorganization of the workforce in France following first reports of new issues at the studio recently.
There are rumors that 90 employees will be laid off at the Paris headquarters. More serious, however, was the board’s blunt warning to the market: if the developer fails to secure significant outside capital in the coming months, the company’s continued existence beyond January 31, 2027 will be fundamentally uncertain.
Data for the first half of 2026 paint a picture of a rapid financial recession. Compared with the same period last year, sales fell by 14% to only 6.1 million euros. The main reasons for the financial crisis were the commercial failure of the spring-released sci-fi film “Farhelion” and the failure of sales of early projects such as “Lost Records” and “Exile: Ghosts of New Eden” to meet expectations.
Within a few months, the company’s liquid assets fell from €15.4 million at the end of 2025 to only around €8 million in July 2026. With an expected annual cash burn rate of close to €17 million, the mathematical endpoint of solvency is getting closer.
To ensure survival, management is now applying an emergency brake and abandoning its previous multi-project strategy. Development activities in France will be consolidated into a single lean production line to focus resources more specifically on core projects. While the team in Montreal, Canada, was unaffected and continues to work on contracts for streaming giant Netflix, the restructuring in Paris means up to a third of staff there are losing their jobs.
The announced layoffs come at an already tense time for the French games industry, with unions such as the STJV already mobilizing to strike against the ongoing cuts. It’s unclear whether the deep cuts and restructuring will be enough to convince potential investors or buyers. Large investors such as Chinese media giant Tencent, which already holds shares in DON’T NOD, have recently been reluctant to inject further capital. The coming months will therefore determine the fate of one of Europe’s most prominent narrative studios.
