DON'T NOD Confirms Up to 90 Job Cuts in France as H1 2026 Revenue Falls 14%

Independent French publisher and developer DON'T NOD has formally opened a workforce-adjustment process in France that could eliminate up to 90 positions, the company said on September 4, 2026, alongside its first-half 2026 results.

In an official press release, the Paris-based studio reported H1 2026 revenue of €6.1 million, down 14% year-on-year, and operating EBITDA of -€4.3 million (compared with -€2.0 million in H1 2025). Total operating revenue, including capitalized production, fell roughly 56% to €6.1 million from €13.9 million a year earlier, in part because no production costs were capitalized for the recently released sci-fi adventure Aphelion or for the unannounced P14 project, the latter of which failed to meet DON'T NOD's funding-capacity criterion as of the closing date "despite expressions of interest."

The company is now refocusing its French operations around a single production line. According to the release, "the transformation project currently under consideration could lead to a workforce adjustment in France that may involve the reduction of up to 90 positions." The plan was approved by the board on September 4, the same day DON'T NOD began preliminary talks with employee representative bodies and opened negotiations with the union representing staff. The H1 update follows DON'T NOD's September 1 announcement that a transformation project was being launched.

Cash on hand stood at €9.8 million at the end of June 2026 and €8.0 million at the end of July, down from €15.4 million at the end of 2025. The release explicitly flags that DON'T NOD's ability to continue as a going concern depends in part on securing external financing, and warns of "material uncertainty regarding the company's ability to continue as a going concern beyond January 31, 2027."

CEO Oskar Guilbert framed the move as necessary in a tougher financing climate: "In a market where financing is more selective and revenues are more uncertain, we must adapt our business model with clarity and responsibility. The measures being considered today are difficult; we fully appreciate what they may mean for the employees affected and are ensuring that the necessary support measures are put in place. This plan is, however, essential to ensuring the Company's continued operations."

The H1 2026 revenue mix also shifted. Game sales fell to €3.5 million, driven by revenue recognition from PS Plus and Game Pass for Lost Records: Bloom & Rage, initial Aphelion sales and back-catalog income, while development revenue rose to €2.6 million, mostly from the Montreal team's work on a narrative game based on a major Netflix intellectual property. Aphelion, DON'T NOD's sci-fi action-adventure released earlier this year, is still listed as available across Steam, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S via Game Pass.

The restructuring is the latest step in a multi-year cost program at DON'T NOD that has already produced cancelled titles in 2025, and it lands as Western studios continue to grapple with selective financing, longer development cycles and weaker back-catalog demand for non-FTSE titles.

The official press release is available on DON'T NOD's investor relations and is mirrored through the French regulated-information wire.

Read the original DON'T NOD press release on Actusnews.

Find the studio's current portfolio, including Aphelion, on the DON'T NOD website.