{"id":1992923,"date":"2026-06-16T10:31:58","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T07:31:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1992923"},"modified":"2026-06-16T10:31:58","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T07:31:58","slug":"aphelion-and-life-is-strange-developer-dont-nod-in-trouble-as-it-struggles-to-secure-funding-for-its-next-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1992923","title":{"rendered":"Aphelion and Life is Strange developer Don&#8217;t Nod in trouble as it struggles to secure funding for its next project"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article \" data-ads=\"true\" data-article-type=\"news\" data-article-group=\"news\" data-paywalled=\"false\" data-premium=\"false\" data-sponsored=\"false\" data-type=\"article\">\n<header class=\"article_header\" data-component=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<nav class=\"nav_breadcrumbs\" data-component=\"nav-breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">\n<ul class=\"nav-links\">\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Home<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/news\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      News<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_details\" id=\"main-content\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">Aphelion and Life is Strange developer Don&#8217;t Nod in trouble as it struggles to secure funding for its next project<\/h1>\n<p class=\"strapline\">Owner Tencent appears to be backing out.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_asset\">\n<figure class=\"headline_image_wrapper\">\n<p>        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"headline_image\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/Lost-Records_-Bloom-_-Rage_20250416001134_.jpg?width=570&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;dpr=3&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Lost Records screenshot showing Kat with short hair.\" loading=\"eager\" data-uri=\"Lost-Records_-Bloom-_-Rage_20250416001134_.jpg\" data-lightbox width=\"570\" height=\"321\"><figcaption>\n          <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Don&#8217;t Nod \/ Eurogamer<\/cite><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metadata\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Sherif Saed avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/IMG_1950_Uy1XomJ.JPG?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1638\" height=\"1346\"><\/p>\n<p>  <img alt=\"Sherif Saed avatar\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"IMG_1950_Uy1XomJ.JPG\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1638\" height=\"1346\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"byline\">\n                  <span class=\"article_type\" data-slug=\"news\"><br \/>\n                    News<br \/>\n                  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"by\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/authors\/sherif-saed\">Sherif Saed<\/a><\/span>                    <span class=\"job_title\"><br \/>\n                      Contributor<br \/>\n                    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"updated_at\">\nUpdated on <time datetime=\"2026-06-16T10:31:58+00:00\">June 16, 2026<\/time>              <\/div>\n<div class=\"comments\">\n      <a class=\"comments__link comments-bubble\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/dont-nod-funding-danger-next-project?view=comments\" rel=\"nofollow\"><br \/>\n          10 comments<br \/>\n      <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mypop-header-wrapper\">\n<p><button class=\"mypop-button button wide\" data-state=\"follow\" data-type=\"tag\" data-uuid=\"95a3ed1c-0c7b-4870-a195-971694ce68e7\" data-name=\"Aphelion\" data-follow-text=\"Follow Aphelion\" data-unfollow-text=\"Following Aphelion\" data-aria-follow-text=\"Follow Aphelion\" data-aria-unfollow-text=\"Following Aphelion\" data-popup=\"true\" data-force-login=\"true\" aria-label=\"Follow Aphelion\" title=\"Follow Aphelion\"><br \/>\n  Follow Aphelion<br \/>\n<\/button>          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>Don&#8217;t Nod, the French studio behind <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/life-is-strange\">Life is Strange<\/a> 1 &amp; 2, Lost Records, Jusant, and more recently Aphelion, could soon run out of money. The developer and publisher revealed in a new <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dontnod-bourse.com\/fr\/informations-financieres\/assemblee-generale\/?ID=DONTNOD&amp;annee=2026\">financial report<\/a> that its cash reserves may be depleted by November.<\/p>\n<p>According to the disclosures, Don&#8217;t Nod&#8217;s co-owner, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/companies\/tencent\">Tencent<\/a>, is not interested in funding its next project, nor is it willing to increase its financial stake in the studio. Tencent acquired shares in Don&#8217;t Nod in the post-pandemic boom of 2021, and it currently holds a 42 percent stake in the business.<\/p>\n<p>The startling auditors&#8217; report was first picked up by <a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/did:plc:iy77xwgff7nccvlwbb4xi63e\/post\/3mocv2zrmr22e\">journalist Gauthier &#8216;Gautoz&#8217; Andres on BlueSky<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gamekult.com\/actualite\/don-t-nod-au-bord-du-gouffre-une-procedure-d-alerte-engagee-par-les-commissaires-aux-comptes-3050870751.html\">French outlet Gamekult broke down the report<\/a>, revealing that Don&#8217;t Nod had \u20ac8.8m in cash as of April.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The young hero grips handholds on a rock wall on a sunny day in Jusant. Up ahead there are signs that the wall has been built upon.\" height=\"1080\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/scmwn3.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7777777777777777\" width=\"1920\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"The young hero grips handholds on a rock wall on a sunny day in Jusant. Up ahead there are signs that the wall has been built upon.\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-lightbox data-uri=\"scmwn3.jpg\" height=\"1080\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7777777777777777\" width=\"1920\"><figcaption><span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Don&#8217;t Nod<\/cite><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Studio president, Oskar Guilbert, revealed that leadership has been working to find potential options, namely other publishers interested in funding the studio. Sadly, none of these discussions have resulted in any publisher commitments.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s not yet clear what this means for the studio, but it&#8217;s not unrealistic to assume cuts and layoffs could follow. To that end, the developer is seemingly scaling back plans for Project P14, its next game, which is currently in development. Gamekult notes that the project could be released earlier than initially planned with a reduced scope.<\/p>\n<p>Don&#8217;t Nod&#8217;s board of directors will convene on 17th June to discuss potential solutions.<\/p>\n<p>These are challenging times for many studios in the industry, but this is not the first time Don&#8217;t Nod has run into trouble. Earlier<a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/lost-records-and-jusant-developer-dont-nod-is-laying-off-staff\"> in 2025, Don&#8217;t Nod laid off an unspecified number of staff from its Montreal office<\/a>. In 2024, the developer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/jusant-lost-records-studio-dont-nod-says-69-jobs-at-risk-as-part-of-reorganisation-project\">announced a redundancy plan<\/a> following the underperformance of climbing game Jusant and role-playing game Banishers: Ghost of New Eden.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"a female astronaut in Aphelion\" height=\"966\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/a-female-astronaut-in-Aphelion.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7774327122153208\" width=\"1717\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"a female astronaut in Aphelion\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-lightbox data-uri=\"a-female-astronaut-in-Aphelion.jpg\" height=\"966\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7774327122153208\" width=\"1717\"><figcaption><span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Don&#8217;t Nod<\/cite><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>More broadly, major publishers have been pulling out of their commitments to fund independent studios. NetEase, another Chinese conglomerate, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/netease-pulls-funding-of-yakuza-creators-nagoshi-studio-putting-development-of-gang-of-dragon-at-risk\">abandoned Yakuza series creator&#8217;s next game, Gang of Dragon<\/a>, after the studio requested additional funding to finish the game.<\/p>\n<p>In November last year, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/netease-shutters-another-studio-as-bad-brain-studios-announces-closure-later-this-month\">NetEase shut down Bad Brain Studios<\/a>, a team made up of former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/watch-dogs-legion\">Watch Dogs: Legion<\/a> developers. Earlier this year, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/tencent-shutters-yet-another-western-studio-timi-montreal\">Tencent shuttered TiMi Montreal, a studio of former Ubisoft talent<\/a> that&#8217;s chiefly been working on a triple-A open-world game, among other projects.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"preferred-source\" data-component=\"preferred-source\">\nLove Eurogamer.net? Make us a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\">Preferred Source on Google<\/a> and catch more of our coverage in your feeds.  <\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>Don&#8217;t Nod, the French studio behind <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/life-is-strange\">Life is Strange<\/a> 1 &amp; 2, Lost Records, Jusant, and more recently Aphelion, could soon run out of money. The developer and publisher revealed in a new <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dontnod-bourse.com\/fr\/informations-financieres\/assemblee-generale\/?ID=DONTNOD&amp;annee=2026\">financial report<\/a> that its cash reserves may be depleted by November.<\/p>\n<p>According to the disclosures, Don&#8217;t Nod&#8217;s co-owner, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/companies\/tencent\">Tencent<\/a>, is not interested in funding its next project, nor is it willing to increase its financial stake in the studio. Tencent acquired shares in Don&#8217;t Nod in the post-pandemic boom of 2021, and it currently holds a 42 percent stake in the business.<\/p>\n<p>The startling auditors&#8217; report was first picked up by <a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/did:plc:iy77xwgff7nccvlwbb4xi63e\/post\/3mocv2zrmr22e\">journalist Gauthier &#8216;Gautoz&#8217; Andres on BlueSky<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gamekult.com\/actualite\/don-t-nod-au-bord-du-gouffre-une-procedure-d-alerte-engagee-par-les-commissaires-aux-comptes-3050870751.html\">French outlet Gamekult broke down the report<\/a>, revealing that Don&#8217;t Nod had \u20ac8.8m in cash as of April.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The young hero grips handholds on a rock wall on a sunny day in Jusant. Up ahead there are signs that the wall has been built upon.\" height=\"1080\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/scmwn3.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7777777777777777\" width=\"1920\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"The young hero grips handholds on a rock wall on a sunny day in Jusant. Up ahead there are signs that the wall has been built upon.\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-lightbox data-uri=\"scmwn3.jpg\" height=\"1080\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7777777777777777\" width=\"1920\"><figcaption><span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Don&#8217;t Nod<\/cite><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Studio president, Oskar Guilbert, revealed that leadership has been working to find potential options, namely other publishers interested in funding the studio. Sadly, none of these discussions have resulted in any publisher commitments.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s not yet clear what this means for the studio, but it&#8217;s not unrealistic to assume cuts and layoffs could follow. To that end, the developer is seemingly scaling back plans for Project P14, its next game, which is currently in development. Gamekult notes that the project could be released earlier than initially planned with a reduced scope.<\/p>\n<p>Don&#8217;t Nod&#8217;s board of directors will convene on 17th June to discuss potential solutions.<\/p>\n<p>These are challenging times for many studios in the industry, but this is not the first time Don&#8217;t Nod has run into trouble. Earlier<a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/lost-records-and-jusant-developer-dont-nod-is-laying-off-staff\"> in 2025, Don&#8217;t Nod laid off an unspecified number of staff from its Montreal office<\/a>. In 2024, the developer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/jusant-lost-records-studio-dont-nod-says-69-jobs-at-risk-as-part-of-reorganisation-project\">announced a redundancy plan<\/a> following the underperformance of climbing game Jusant and role-playing game Banishers: Ghost of New Eden.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"a female astronaut in Aphelion\" height=\"966\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/a-female-astronaut-in-Aphelion.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7774327122153208\" width=\"1717\"><\/p>\n<p><img alt=\"a female astronaut in Aphelion\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-lightbox data-uri=\"a-female-astronaut-in-Aphelion.jpg\" height=\"966\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1.7774327122153208\" width=\"1717\"><figcaption><span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Don&#8217;t Nod<\/cite><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>More broadly, major publishers have been pulling out of their commitments to fund independent studios. NetEase, another Chinese conglomerate, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/netease-pulls-funding-of-yakuza-creators-nagoshi-studio-putting-development-of-gang-of-dragon-at-risk\">abandoned Yakuza series creator&#8217;s next game, Gang of Dragon<\/a>, after the studio requested additional funding to finish the game.<\/p>\n<p>In November last year, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/netease-shutters-another-studio-as-bad-brain-studios-announces-closure-later-this-month\">NetEase shut down Bad Brain Studios<\/a>, a team made up of former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/watch-dogs-legion\">Watch Dogs: Legion<\/a> developers. Earlier this year, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/tencent-shutters-yet-another-western-studio-timi-montreal\">Tencent shuttered TiMi Montreal, a studio of former Ubisoft talent<\/a> that&#8217;s chiefly been working on a triple-A open-world game, among other projects.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home News Aphelion and Life is Strange developer Don&#8217;t Nod in trouble as it struggles to secure funding for its next project Owner Tencent appears to be backing out. Image credit: Don&#8217;t Nod \/ Eurogamer News by Sherif Saed Contributor Updated on June 16, 2026 10 comments Follow Aphelion Don&#8217;t Nod, the French studio behind [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,253],"class_list":["post-1992923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-eurogamer-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1992923","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1992923"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1992923\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1992923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1992923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1992923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}