Don't Nod, once the developer best known for the quirky adventure game Life is Strange, has seven games in development, four of which remain unannounced. With releases like Vampyr and Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden under its belt (and more on the way), it's clear that the company has larger publishing ambitions, wants to become a real player in a specific economic space, and is reorganizing accordingly.
Speaking to IGN, Don't Nod, which has studios in Paris and Montreal, will reorient the company, focusing on what it sees as its "three distinct internal branches of expertise": narrative adventure, action adventure, and RPGs. These branches will specialize; for example, the action adventure branch is in Paris, and those devs will "increase their know-how and do better and better games from game to game."
The games we know about include Lost Records: Bloom and Rage, which looks like a proper Life is Strange successor. Koira (developed externally by Tolima but published by Don't Nod) is a "musical, hand-drawn adventure." The third is an unnamed project with Italian developer Tiny Bull Studios. One of the unannounced games, at least, appears to be a fantasy RPG not expected until "beyond 2025".
Astutely, CEO Oskar Guilbert has identified a potentially sustainable space in the market, and frankly, one we wish more would (or could) chase: "We feel like also in response to what's happening in the industry, we need to focus on the games that are more AA or a bit above that, not necessarily going into the AAA landscape. So it's a bit easier also for us to really focus our efforts and our different talents to hopefully avoid being in a situation where we have to make tough decisions. So, focusing and building is our main focus right now."
Are you a fan of Don't Nod's games? Can you believe how far the once-small developer has come? Let us know in the comments section below.
[source ign.com]
Comments 20
Works for me being a big Life is Strange fan and looking forward to trying Banishers someday. It's also nice to read something positive about a game developer or publisher for a change.
Looking forward to Lost Records: Bloom & Rage. Gives me strong Life Is Strange vibes and I need more of that in my life.
Really looking forward to Lost Records as a huge LiS fan. It’s one of my most anticipated titles this year, in fact. I’ve got Banishers downloaded as well and I suppose I’m just waiting for the right moment to start it up. It had the misfortune of releasing when I was quite sick, sick enough to be unable to play games, and by the time I was better, I kept it off with Rebirth being on the way. I’ve finished Rebirth today, so maybe I’ll balance it with Dragon’s Dogma 2. The wife and I have played most of Dontnod’s games together and they’re one of those studios that I practically purchase everything they do. Glad they’re having such strides of success.
I'm glad they have a plan and are confident about their niche. I'm looking forward to checking out Banishers sometime soon.
7 games is a lot to work on. After the allegations of treatment that came a while ago I hope they aren't being unethical.
How do they manage to work on seven games?
Don’t Nod is a mixed bag for me. I enjoyed remember me and the first life is strange (and life is strange isn’t that good) but everything else I have not enjoyed. Yet despite that I want them to make another game that draws me in like remember me.
Oh wait I forgot about Vampyr. I haven’t finished it but it’s not bad.
Got Banishers on my wish list and enjoyed Life is Strange with my gf.
@breakneck I'm assuming some are published by other devs.
Just completed Banishers, good game. Solid AA effort. Intriguing setting, brilliant voice acting, and generally interesting missions. Combat is ok (on a par with Greedfall, AC Odyssey etc) cluttered map, probably too much backtracking, and it did leave a little to be desired performance wise (in quality mode).
I enjoyed it, my type of game, hope to get a sequel. Would be interesting to see the protagonists in a different setting, maybe 17th century Cuba or Scotland?
I am almost done with Banishers and to me this is a great game. Not sure if there was another one that made me want to do all side quests - so interesting stories and intertwined. Realy GREAT game.
I love their games. After reading the comments and learning about Banishers I'm gonna get it soon!
Haven't heard amazing things about their latest games... maybe they should focus more efforts on making one really good game rather than 7 mediocre ones.
There hasn't been a Don't Nod game I haven't loved yet and I'm happy for them to keep going... I still dream of a Remember Me sequel!
In an industry rife with lay-offs and canceled projects, it’s good to see developers expand the AA space and actively strategize that way. Clearly the temptation to make “AAAA” games has backfired immensely. We don’t need more big budget games, we need more of these mid-tier budget games. There’s a place in the industry for all levels of game creation, but the majority of development costs have ballooned out of control.
Hopefully they learned a lesson with Banishers, because although I haven’t played it, I’ve now heard several players say it starts out strong and then just loses steam toward the latter parts. I think it sounds like a good AA effort, but seems it fell into the trap of extending the game beyond the length it needed to be and ironically could have been a stronger game to have been shorter and also ironically cheaper to make.
Give us more of these creative worlds and diverse storylines, but with solid well-crafted 12-18 hour playtimes.
I would love another Vampyr sequel, it was a great game. I enjoyed playing Life is Stranger 2 and I have Twin Mirror in my backlog. Banishers looks to be in the same ilk and I may pick it up in the summer once it goes a bit further on discount and I have cleared down my backlog a bit.
I'm playing Banishers now, and it's incredible. I'll check out anything else these guys make just based on how good Banishers is so far.
Their games are always interesting, so really liking this approach. They still need a bit of sharpening when it comes to systems but on the right track. Narratives usually slap.
Really excellent to hear they have a clear, realistic goal - we need more sensibly scaled AA games. It gives freedom to be a bit more creative, and if you can forgive some jank often present some of the most memorable moments.
Life is Strange remains one of the very best games I’ve played, it was exceptional where it counted.
A sequel to Remember Me would be awesome.
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