DONTNOD: 5 self published titles scheduled between 2022 and 2025, confirm plans to become a publisher, extend reach in Asia through mobile platforms

Maxime · Mar 31, 2021

From their 2020 business review.

Numbers!:

Capitalized production multiplied by 2.5

Strong growth in back catalog revenue: royalties up 83%

Acceleration of self-publishing strategy: operating revenues1 up 31% to €23.6 million

Push for Self publishing going forward / Asian market

DONTNOD is therefore perfectly placed to ramp up its development plan aimed at capturing more value generated from its original creations by self-publishing more games and extending the reach of its catalog to mobile platforms in Asia. The entire pipeline has thus been enhanced with new self-published IP in line with the positive industry trends in favor of creators of high-quality original games that gain international recognition, such as DONTNOD

Becoming a publisher (it was announced last year IIRC)

Against this backdrop, following the creation of the new publishing and marketing departments to promote game releases, in early 2021 DONTNOD joined SELL (Syndicat des Editeurs de Logiciels de Loisirs), which brings together the leading video game publishers in France. This new milestone is a reflection of the studio's desire to contribute towards the development of a sector with significant international reach that is a strong driving force for the French economy.

Current line up of games in production

Lastly, DONTNOD is continuing to develop the new co-production with FOCUS Home Interactive as well as the design/pre-production of 5 other self-published titles scheduled for release between 2022 and 2025.

Their game with Focus is cooking since quite some time now. I wonder if they'll unveil it soon (it's a fairly big AA game, budget wise). Also I was still expecting a new partnership with Microsoft (without anything concrete to back this up, it just made sense).

Ehoavash · Mar 31, 2021

Do they still own life is strange

Raigor · Mar 31, 2021

Ehoavash said:
Do they still own life is strange

They never owned LiS

Maxime · Mar 31, 2021

Ehoavash said:
Do they still own life is strange

They never did. Square own the IP.

Byronic Hero · Mar 31, 2021

Hopefully they don't end up with too much on their plate and implode like Telltale.

Mentalist · Mar 31, 2021

Hopefully the Vampyr team is cooking up something more action-y then their narrative stuff.

Deleted member 5725 · Mar 31, 2021

Mentalist said:
Hopefully the Vampyr team is cooking up something more action-y then their narrative stuff.

Maybe they're working on Vampyr 2 for Focus Home?

Maxime · Mar 31, 2021

Astrochelys said:
Maybe they're working on Vampyr 2 for Focus Home?

It seems to be a new IP:

Deleted member 5725 · Mar 31, 2021

Maxime said:
It seems to be a new IP:

Haven't seen this image before. Does look like a new IP indeed.

Mentalist · Mar 31, 2021

Maxime said:
It seems to be a new IP:

"Return. Expiate. Uncover. "

Astrochelys said:
Haven't seen this image before. Does look like a new IP indeed.

This was announced in 2019, and out of the 11 IPs, Dontnod, Asobo, and Deck 13 are the only ones unnannounced yet.

Damn Silly · Mar 31, 2021

Always interested in more Dontnod!

VX1 · Mar 31, 2021

Byronic Hero said:
Hopefully they don't end up with too much on their plate and implode like Telltale.

They are (financially) backed by Tencent now so i am sure they are safe and i am very glad about that...i was also getting worried about them, with Telltale in mind.

Iwao · Mar 31, 2021

Byronic Hero said:
Hopefully they don't end up with too much on their plate and implode like Telltale.

VX1 said:
They are (financially) backed by Tencent now so i am sure they are safe and i am very glad about that...i was also getting worried about them, with Telltale in mind.

This was my concern. Good to hear they're getting investment and are still able to self-publish.

jon bones · Mar 31, 2021

Wonderful - glad to head we'll continue to get iOS ports of their work

defaltoption · Mar 31, 2021

Byronic Hero said:
Hopefully they don't end up with too much on their plate and implode like Telltale.

This is the first thing that came to mind, I really hope the succeed because I really like their work just like I really liked Telltale.

The Crystal Exarch · Mar 31, 2021

They're one of my favorite devs, here's hoping for a lot of success in their endeavors. And please bring me Vampyr 2, thank you 😬

Charamiwa · Mar 31, 2021

Their new Montreal studio (where the LiS 1 & 2 creative leads are now working) is currently hiring a writer. Confirmed to be a narrative game.

VX1 · Mar 31, 2021

Iwao said:
This was my concern. Good to hear they're getting investment and are still able to self-publish.

Indeed. Company that makes this type of games certainly needs strong backing -whether it's Tencent, MS or somebody like that. On their own they could end in a big financial trouble.

Billfisto · Mar 31, 2021

I hope someday they get to dabble in the Remember Me zone again.

Not with the exact same IP or budget, of course, but a game with similar general mechanics and feel. I loved that game. So underappreciated.

SolidSnakeUS · Mar 31, 2021

Billfisto said:
I hope someday they get to dabble in the Remember Me zone again.

Not with the exact same IP or budget, of course, but a game with the general mechanics and feel. I loved that game. So underappreciated.

Remember Me's best quality was its settings and overall lore. I'd love to have that revisited.

EvilBoris · Mar 31, 2021

I'd love to see a port of Remember me, the art was so good it would hold up well I'm sure

Philippo · Mar 31, 2021

Great, I still hope they try again at an action/RPG title, I had a good time with Vampyr.

Bman94 · Mar 31, 2021

Nice, crazy that their breakout hit was Life is Strange and that it boosted them to rise up in the industry. Played through the first chapter of Tell Me Why and was enjoying myself. Hopefully this stops any speculation that Microsoft is going to scoop them up.

buttzilla · Mar 31, 2021

Interesting about the mobile games, I wonder if their current crop of games can translate to mobile, or if they'll be entirely new experiences.

Hadok · Mar 31, 2021

Astrochelys said:
Haven't seen this image before. Does look like a new IP indeed.

probably a new ip,yeah....and did you notice the woman in the picture? :)

Hadok · Mar 31, 2021

EvilBoris said:
I'd love to see a port of Remember me, the art was so good it would hold up well I'm sure

ask Capcom.

Deleted member 5725 · Mar 31, 2021

Hadok said:
probably a new ip,yeah....and did you notice the woman in the picture? :)

The woman? I tried to look now but still not seeing haha

SolidSnakex · Mar 31, 2021

Astrochelys said:
The woman? I tried to look now but still not seeing haha

The cave exit/entrance is shaped like a woman's face.

Mivey · Mar 31, 2021

They are my favourite game developer whose name is also a palindrome.
I guess they might soon become my favourite publisher whose name is also a palindrome.

Deleted member 5725 · Mar 31, 2021

SolidSnakex said:
The cave exit/entrance is shaped like a woman's face.

Well damn, look at that. I tried to squint my eyes and try to notice a woman from the terrain haha.

rainking187 · Mar 31, 2021

Not super excited about the self publishing as I imagine they'll all end up timed Epic exclusives like Twin Mirror.

Leo · Apr 1, 2021

Charamiwa said:
Their new Montreal studio (where the LiS 1 & 2 creative leads are now working) is currently hiring a writer. Confirmed to be a narrative game.

That's great, I'm ready for more like LiS 1 and 2.

Hopefully it won't be an exclusive like Tell me why.

Hadok · Apr 2, 2021

Leo said:
That's great, I'm ready for more like LiS 1 and 2.

Hopefully it won't be an exclusive like Tell me why.

Well Tell Me Why is published by Microsoft (the game is on xbox and PC).

This new project will probably be self-published by Dontnod.

Hadok · Apr 29, 2021

2020 full year results :

Their 2020 full year result is now available :

DON'T NOD - Press releases

DON'T NOD est un éditeur et développeur français indépendant basé à Paris et Montréal, créateur de jeux narratifs originaux dans les genres aventure (LIFE is STRANGE ™, TELL ME WHY ™, TWIN MIRROR ™), RPG (VAMPYR ™) et action (REMEMBER ME ™).

www.dontnod-bourse.com

" 2021 has started with a rich in-house pipeline of six original creations, five of which are self-published and one co-produced with FOCUS Home Interactive, with releases scheduled between 2022 and 2025. "

Mentalist · Apr 29, 2021

rainking187 said:
Not super excited about the self publishing as I imagine they'll all end up timed Epic exclusives like Twin Mirror.

They used the Epic exclusivity money to buy the Twin Mirror IP from their publisher, Bamco.

As much as I dislike the EGS, I find it hard to be mad about this.

IgelRM · May 4, 2021

Hadok said:
" 2021 has started with a rich in-house pipeline of six original creations, five of which are self-published and one co-produced with FOCUS Home Interactive, with releases scheduled between 2022 and 2025. "

Maxime said:
Push for Self publishing going forward / Asian market

Their game with Focus is cooking since quite some time now. I wonder if they'll unveil it soon (it's a fairly big AA game, budget wise). Also I was still expecting a new partnership with Microsoft (without anything concrete to back this up, it just made sense).

The SFAF presentation implies no releases this year (DONTNOD already shipped two games last year, one with Shibuya Productions). Though it looked like the PortaPlay game could come out this year.

Also all numbered projects are listed as "self-published". I recall Guilbert mentioned partnering with a "major publisher" in 2020. Maybe this is only for PC or something though.

From what I remember the strategy part of mobile and Asia (China) was already in their 2018 IPO document, but perhaps it will come to fruition if this Tencent "business cooperation" is something.

IgelRM · May 12, 2021

Trademarks registered in May and September 2019:
ASCENT : THE NEW HEAVEN CURSE
TRESPASSERS
HARMONY

(Kinda wish there was a DONTNOD OT)

Hadok · May 12, 2021

IgelRM said:
(Kinda wish there was a DONTNOD OT)

Yeah !Where is the Dontnod OT ?

Interesting names.Ascent is probably the game published by Focus.

TorianElecdra · May 12, 2021

Give me Life is Strange 2 PART 2. NOW.

Lowrys · May 12, 2021

Give me Remember Me 2. That game is such a hidden gem.

Hadok · May 12, 2021

Lowrys said:
Give me Remember Me 2. That game is such a hidden gem.

ask Capcom.

Hadok · May 12, 2021

TorianElecdra said:
Give me Life is Strange 2 PART 2. NOW.

Dontnod CEO Says Life is Strange Is 'Not Our Strategy' For Now

" "Never say never," Guilbert said. "But for the moment it's not our strategy, yeah. We want to create our own IPs. That's what we want to do."

Dontnod CEO Says Life is Strange Is 'Not Our Strategy' For Now - IGN

Dontnod is still primarily associated with Life Is Strange. But according to CEO Oskar Guilbert, Dontnod is now ready to move on.

www.ign.com

there is also this new interview (i didn't see a thread about it,but a Dontnod OT is needed i think :p )
Dontnod 'Refused Several Proposals' of Acquisition to Maintain Independence

Dontnod 'Refused Several Proposals' of Acquisition to Maintain Independence - IGN

At a time when it seems like every indie studio that grows to a certain size and has a hit game is getting acquired by a giant entity, Dontnod is proclaiming its ongoing independence.

www.ign.com

TorianElecdra · May 12, 2021

Hadok said:
Dontnod CEO Says Life is Strange Is 'Not Our Strategy' For Now

" "Never say never," Guilbert said. "But for the moment it's not our strategy, yeah. We want to create our own IPs. That's what we want to do."

Dontnod CEO Says Life is Strange Is 'Not Our Strategy' For Now - IGN

Dontnod is still primarily associated with Life Is Strange. But according to CEO Oskar Guilbert, Dontnod is now ready to move on.

www.ign.com

there is also this new interview (i didn't see a thread about it,but a Dontnod OT is needed i think :p )
Dontnod 'Refused Several Proposals' of Acquisition to Maintain Independence

Dontnod 'Refused Several Proposals' of Acquisition to Maintain Independence - IGN

At a time when it seems like every indie studio that grows to a certain size and has a hit game is getting acquired by a giant entity, Dontnod is proclaiming its ongoing independence.

www.ign.com

Yeah I know. Just wish they give us another game with a similar vibe (although perhaps a little less tragic :p)

Mentalist · May 12, 2021

I'm guessing Focus will reveal their game either E3 or GamesCom.
Excited to see what's next for the Vampyr team

Charamiwa · May 12, 2021

I could see Harmony being the new IP they're doing at Montreal. The new LiS, in essence.

Hadok · May 12, 2021

Charamiwa said:
I could see Harmony being the new IP they're doing at Montreal. The new LiS, in essence.

Maybe.But isn't it a bit early for a name ?

EagleClaw · May 12, 2021

Always nice to see a new publisher with own studios.
I hope they are successful.

Charamiwa · May 12, 2021

Hadok said:
Maybe.But isn't it a bit early for a name ?

Yeah, especially if it was from 2019. Not sure where the project is at right now.

Samiya · May 12, 2021

IgelRM said:
Trademarks registered in May and September 2019:
TRESPASSERS

(Kinda wish there was a DONTNOD OT)

it's time

Voodoopeople · May 12, 2021

Twin Mirror on sale.

Yay?

Nay?

DONTNOD: 5 self published titles scheduled between 2022 and 2025, confirm plans to become a publisher, extend reach in Asia through mobile platforms

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