Vampyr and Life Is Strange devs looking at “all possible options” in note to investors
To compensate for this, Don’t Nod are writing down the assets of Jusant and Banishers: Ghost of New Eden (i.e. lowering their value on company books, to match what the market says they’re worth) and making some sweeping changes to their line-up of games in development.
They’re also “temporarily pausing two projects in the design phase in Paris”, codenamed P12 and P13, for a write-down of €7.6 million. “This decision will enable us to prioritize resources and maximize the chances of success of the titles with the greatest potential at present,” the press release adds.
While Jusant’s fortunes are perhaps predictable, going by stereotypes about which games tend to be big hits, the underwhelming returns on Banishers are more worrisome. Don’t Nod had it vaguely pegged as a spiritual follow-up to Vampyr, which remains their biggest seller for all its middling reviews, as Don’t Nod’s head of creative Phillipe Moreautold me in December. Still, there’s a difference between “game that is popular” and “game that sells what the company in question needs it to sell”.
As ever, best of luck to the rank-and-file developers caught up in these machinations.
