In a nutshell, a major downscale will be needed with Don't Nod, which is to maintain some kind of sustainability amid unprofitability.
The studio is way too big with its overheads right now and its pipeline of titles since Vampyr has not been good enough.
It was a nice attempt, but they’re not a publisher. They struggle to market their own IPs the majority of the time, not to mention other studios’ projects.
Indie titles are not needle movers for Don’t Nod, especially when you’ve been a publicly listed company.
Don't Nod better pray Tencent change their mind down the line -- and if not, they don't pull out their stake earlier than they expect (Ubisoft should be concerned as well on their front).
Otherwise, they'd better hope a bigger entity views them as a takeover (which they won't).
Netflix, Netflix, Netflix.
They secured €3.8m from the first milestone delivery of that project.
Their allocation of resources should be placed on what they can with Don't Nod Montreal, which'll need the support in getting that project out.
It's the lifeline the dev needed.
Just for perspective, Tencent has invested a total of €66m across two separate funding rounds (2021 & 2023).
Yes, you read that right.
You could make EIGHT Aphelions with the amount of money they've put in and still carry over some pocket change as well.
Forgot to add.
Hire. Someone. Who. Specialises. In. Social. Media. Marketing.
My word. I would have to start another major thread to vent about how BAD it is that Don't Nod's social media presence is poor.
It feels like Don't Nod is stuck in the early 2010s for social media.
That P14 project as well... let's hope it's not a repeat of Aphelion -- because that was €8m blown in a massive way.
They'd better hope short-term deals are struck over different projects to help put some footing under their crippling finances.
And hope a publisher hires them.
And in this gaming industry climate, Don’t Nod needs to sign contracts with publishers, which it is now actively pursuing — even if that has come incredibly late.
It will need to stop its publishing arm ASAP. It already has in the most part, from what I heard at least.
One team in France, one team in Canada. That’s it. Two studios working on major IPs/projects for them, instead of these gambles like Jusant and Aphelion.
It must work with publishers on every project going forward. Its venture as an independent entity post-Square Enix failed.
Don’t Nod was down to 248 employees as of 31st December 2025, which I expect to fall further through a reallocation of resources and cost-cutting measures.
Its team in Paris, which was carved into multiple divisions in recent times, needs to be streamlined into one entity.
