On June 15, French media outlet Gamekult reported, citing an audit report, that Don't Nod—the French studio behind the *Life Is Strange* series—may run out of cash reserves by November of this year, and that Tencent, its largest shareholder, has explicitly refused to provide further funding.
Cash is running low, and none of the self-rescue plans have been implemented.
According to a special audit alert report submitted in accordance with French commercial law, as of April 7, 2026, Don’t Nod had approximately 8.8 million euros in cash on hand; however, management’s own projections indicate that, without new financing, the company will run out of funds in November.To make matters worse, Tencent has not only refused to participate in the recent capital increase plan but is also unwilling to fund current projects through a co-development agreement.
Life Is Strange
Don't Nod's management has proposed several measures to turn the company around: securing external funding for the project codenamed "P14" while reducing its budget, moving up the release date to 2027, focusing resources on projects with greater commercial potential, and seeking short-term revenue through "contract development" agreements and partnerships with external IP holders.
However, the auditing firm pointed out that, as of May 25, none of the aforementioned proposals had been implemented. The shareholders’ meeting on June 17 will be a pivotal moment in determining the studio’s fate.
A series of business setbacks has worn out people's patience
Don't Nod's predicament did not come out of the blue. Founded in 2008, the French studio built its reputation on the *Life is Strange* series. Tencent invested a total of 65 million euros in two rounds—in 2021 and 2023—acquiring a 41.9 percent stake and becoming the largest shareholder.However, over the past two years, the studio has found itself mired in a situation where its games have garnered critical acclaim but failed to attract a large commercial audience.
The October 2023 rock-climbing game *Jusant* received a Metacritic score of 85 but sold far below expectations; the February 2024 action RPG *The Exorcist: Ghosts of New Eden* had estimated Steam sales of only 235,000 copies and was also a commercial failure.
The two games together resulted in a 24 million euro impairment charge. Although *Lost Records: Bloom & Fury*, released in February 2025, received positive reviews from the media, it generated a loss of over 13 million euros.The latest release, *Aphelion*, has also received a lukewarm reception. As a result, the company posted a net loss of 42.37 million euros in the first half of 2024, and its stock price has plummeted 88% since January 2024.
For Don't Nod, the only way to survive right now is to find a new publisher or investor before its cash runs out. But amid an industry-wide downturn and a climate in which publishers are extremely cautious about new projects, this French studio—which once made its name with "story-driven" games—is facing the most severe survival challenge since its founding.
The Montreal Dream Comes to an End
Don't Nod's crisis is not an isolated case.This year, news also broke that Tencent’s TiMi Montreal studio was closing. Founded in 2021 and led by former Ubisoft star creative director Ashraf Ismail (who spearheaded *Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag*, *Origins*, and *Valhalla*), the studio was positioned to develop “AAA open-world multiplatform games.”
However, over the past five years, aside from providing support for legacy projects such as *Pokémon Unite* and *Call of Duty: Mobile*, the studio has never managed to release an original title. One employee wrote on LinkedIn: "Although we had long anticipated this day, the reality is still hard to accept."
NetEase is also scaling back—it has closed several overseas studios in the United States and Canada.
原创文章，作者：游茶妹儿，禁止转载：https://youxichaguan.com/en/archives/207847
