Don’t Nod has started safeguard proceedings in France, a court-supervised procedure meant to give the struggling Life is Strange developer time to fix its finances. PC Gamer reported the move, citing a financial update from the company. The update comes a month after the studio warned that its cash might not last through January 2027.
In the update, CEO and Chairman Oskar Guilbert pointed to industry-wide difficulty in securing funding. “In this context, our current cash position does not allow us to adequately secure all the financing requirements associated with our operations and projects,” he said. Guilbert described the proceedings as a proactive protection measure that would let the company work toward a sustainable solution while it continues operating and preserves its assets and projects.
PC Gamer explains that French safeguard proceedings are roughly comparable to Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US. Companies that are struggling but have not yet defaulted on payments can start the process themselves. It opens an observation period of six to 18 months, during which creditors cannot take enforcement action. During that period, the company and its creditors draw up a plan to reduce and reschedule its debt over as long as 10 years, and a court must approve it.
The proceedings do not change the job cuts. According to PC Gamer, the restructuring plan Don’t Nod outlined in September would refocus its French operations on a single production line, and up to 85 people could lose their jobs. The company also said sales of its most recent release, the third-person sci-fi action game Aphelion, fell short of its expectations and hurt its half-year results.
Don’t Nod’s troubles go back to 2024. That year, Jusant and Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden were well received but sold below expectations, according to PC Gamer. The studio paused work on two new games and made layoffs in 2025. Its other games include Lost Records: Bloom & Rage.
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