Dire times for the developer of Remember Me, Jusant, and the original Life is Strange.
French developer DONTNOD has enough cash on hand to survive until November, and sadly, it seems like major backer Tencent isn’t interested in supporting the studio further.
The alarm bells were first sounded by French outlet Gamekult, which referenced a report by auditors that states the developer will likely exhaust its cash reserves before the end of the year. As of 7 April 2026, the studio had €8.8 million in cash remaining.
The auditors continued to say that backer Tencent isn’t interested in increasing DONTNOD’s capital or to contribute further to the development of new titles.
“Trouble is brewing at Don’t Nod: an auditors’ report warns of the studio’s cash reserves being completely depleted by November,” said Gamekult journalist Gauthier ‘Gautoz’ Andres over on Bluesky (translated from French). “Tencent is unwilling to raise capital or finance any projects, and the bosses’ plans are not reassuring.
“Their latest project, which was more or less in development, was recently scrapped after their investor withdrew,” Andres continued. “Everything hinges on the possibility of signing with a publisher for a new project.”
DONTNOD was first formed in 2008, first releasing Remember Me (which, as an aside, is a banger) before hitting it big with Life is Strange in 2015. The studio continued with Vampyr, Tell Me Why, Twin Mirror, Jusant, Banishers Ghosts of New Eden, and Life is Strange spiritual successor Lost Records Bloom and Rage amongst other titles.
This year, DONTNOD released Aphelion to little fanfare.
DONTNOD’s Tell Me Why is currently free during Pride month.
We’ll keep you informed as this situation progresses.
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