Dontnod Entertainment, a leader in narrative AA games, will increase its production capacity in the fast-paced action-RPG segment.
Despite a portfolio of seven original licenses, Dontnod Entertainment is far from satisfied as no less than eight new games are currently being developed internally and by partner studios (PortaPlay, Studio Tolima, Focus Entertainment). The independent Paris-based studio will also continue its Montreal rollout, creating a multi-project hub with a strong narrative component. At the same time, in order to support its ambitions as a publisher outside of its internal production facilities, Dontnod Entertainment will explore new external collaborative projects with a controlled budget and in line with its editorial line, welcomed by a dedicated community of over four million players worldwide..
Oscar Gilbert, CEO of Dontnod Entertainment, says: “In four years, our royalties have quintupled and hit an all-time high in 2021. This dynamic is largely due to the success of Life is Strange and Vampyr. on which we intend to continue to capitalize. So it’s only natural that we’ve decided to accelerate our investment in new game development capabilities that will be in the same vein at both the multi-project hub in Montreal and the RPG hub in Paris. At the same time, we continue to explore ways to transfer our co-production and publishing expertise to independent entities to give them the means to pursue their original creations while integrating more intellectual property into our assets. ”
Latest economic results of Dontnod Entertainment
- A significant increase in royalties is expected, which will rise by 52% to 5.7 million euros.
- A solid cash position of 57 million euros is expected.
- The amortization of all development costs is still capitalized and has an accounting impact of around €4.4 million.
- Vampyr is the studio’s biggest financial success to date along with Life is Strange.
- Since its release in June 2018, Vampyr has sold over two million copies worldwide.
- Vampyr’s popularity remains very strong in 2021, with eight million free downloads during the latest free day operation on the Epic Game Store.
- Twin Mirror contributes significantly to Dontnod Entertainment’s 2021 royalty income with a guaranteed minimum
- Dontnod Entertainment managed to cover 75% of their investment with Twin Mirror.
- Twin Mirror will generate only a negligible level of revenue going forward due to global market saturation at the end of 2021 and the sudden closure of the Chinese market.