The studio behind Life is Strange, Jusant, and Lost Records: Bloom & Rage is desperately struggling to stay afloat

Things seem to have gone from bad to worse for Don't Nod, the developer of the first two Life is Strange games as well as Jusant, Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden, Lost Records, and Aphelion. A month after saying it might not have enough cash to get through January 2027 and that up to 90 people were at risk of being laid off, the studio has begun "safeguard proceedings" aimed at buying it time while it tries to get its financial situation sorted.

Don't Nod has been struggling since 2024, after both Jusant and Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden, despite being well-received by players and critics, sold "well below expectations." Work on two new games was put on hold and layoffs followed in 2025, but despite achieving "significant milestones" in its restructuring plan, the studio is still in trouble.

"The videogame industry continues to face an exceptionally challenging environment, marked in particular by highly selective access to financing," Don't Nod CEO and Chairman Oskar Guilbert said in a financial update. "In this context, our current cash position does not allow us to adequately secure all the financing requirements associated with our operations and projects."

Thus the opening of the safeguard proceedings, which Guilbert said "is a proactive, protection measure ... intended to provide the necessary framework and time to build a sustainable solution, while continuing our operations and preserving the value of our assets, our projects and our expertise."

Safeguard proceedings in France, where Don't Nod is based, are a bit like Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US: Switzerland-based corporate finance advisory firm Hectelion describes it as "a preventive French insolvency procedure available to companies that are not yet in payment default but face difficulties they cannot overcome alone." The process is initiated by the debtor—in this case, Don't Nod—and "provides an observation period of 6–18 months during which creditor enforcement is suspended." During that period, a plan to reduce and reschedule the debt, over a period of up to 10 years, is worked out with creditors and ultimately approved by a court.

Don't Nod may have bought itself some breathing room, but the layoff situation still looks grim. As it said in September, the studio's restructuring plan includes "a refocusing of French operations around a single production line," and that up to 85 people could lose their jobs as a result. Don't Nod also said in the financial update that sales of its latest release, the third-person sci-fi action game Aphelion, "came in below the Group's expectations, weighing on the half-year's performance."