Pokémon, V Rising, Dontnod… the business news of the week

business news Pokémon, V Rising, Dontnod… the business news of the week

The Pokémon Company had a record year

After celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2021, the Pokémon license seems more lucrative than ever. The brand’s management company, The Pokémon Company (jointly owned by Nintendo, Game Freak and Creatures), unveiled the results of its fiscal year ended February 28. The numbers reached new heights with 1.4 billion euros in turnover and 295 million euros in net profit, up 70.4% and 123% respectively compared to the previous year. It must be said that the period was marked by the massive successes of Pokémon Legends: Arceus (12.64 million sales) and Pokémon Sparkling Diamond / Sparkling Pearl (14.65 million), not to mention the contribution of New Pokémon Snap ( 2.4 million).

But the real jackpot is hidden on the side of Pokémon GO. It is here that The Pokémon Company, which manages the game with the American studio Niantic, recovers the largest margin, while Pokémon games on consoles have always mainly benefited Nintendo and Game Freak. We also notice in the graph below, designed by journalist Oscar Lemaire, that The Pokémon Company’s profits have exploded since fiscal year 2016, which corresponds to the launch of Pokémon GO (July 2016). The mobile game always generates more money over the yearsfor a total of more than $5 billion.

The next few months will be lively for the license with the arrival of the ninth generation Pokémon Scarlet / Purple on November 18 on Nintendo Switch, which will pave the way for even more merchandise.

Nacon completes “a transition exercise” before the release of big games (Gollum, Steelrising, etc.)

Nacon presented its financial results for the financial year ended March 31, 2022. With revenue of $156 million (-12.3%) and net profit of $10 million (-45.3%), the publisher French shows a sharp decline. In detail, the gaming activity achieved a turnover of 54.4 million euros (-21%), while accessories held up better with 96.6 million euros in revenue (-6% ) despite the shortage of the latest PlayStation and Xbox consoles.

These results are however considered “in line with expectations” since it is, according to Nacon, a “transition exercise”. A significant rebound is expected for the 2022-2023 financial year thanks to titles like Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong (released on May 19), The Lord of the Rings: Gollum (September 1), Steelrising (September 8) and Session: Skateboarding Sim Game. Test Drive Unlimited: Solar Crown meanwhile will release somewhere between April 2023 and March 2024 on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series, with the Switch, PS4, and Xbox One versions having been discontinued.

Nacon has also made several investments for the future in order to expand its list of studios and increase its production capacity.. Since early 2021, the publisher has offered Daedalic Entertainment (The Lord of the Rings Gollum), Midgar Studio (Edge of Eternity), Ishtar Games (The Last Spell), Crea-ture Studios (Sessions) and Big Ant Studios (Tennis World Tour 2). “In two years, Nacon will have invested more than $100 million in the development of its games, and will have acquired 9 studios. To date, 46 games are under development compared to 33 at March 31, 2021. The first returns on investment are expected from the current financial year with the release of many games”, can we read in the balance sheet. The objective is always the same: to eventually become one of the world leaders in AA gaming.

V Rising: already 1.5 million sales for the survival game

After having distinguished itself thanks to Battlerite in 2017, Stunlock Studios signs a success of a whole new magnitude with V Rising. Since its release in early access on Steam on May 17, the vampiric survival game has been panicking the counters: 500,000 sales in three days, a million in a week, then 1.5 million by May 31, all with 88% positive evaluations on Valve’s platform and a strong presence on Twitch. An unexpected phenomenon which is reminiscent of that of Valheim last year, which had recorded 2 million sales in two weeks until reaching 7 million according to the latest figures (May 2022). And like their Swedish compatriots at Iron Gate Studio, Stunlock now have a lot to do with satisfying a massive community of players who are hungry for new content.

For the time being, the priorities of the developers are to fix bugs, adjust the balance, optimize the servers and improve the comfort of play. The next step will be to analyze the data and feedback collected during the first weeks of the game. early access to meet player expectations. “The overwhelming support V Rising has received not only gives us the opportunity to finalize our plans for the game, it also gives us enough time to include some of your darkest dreams of what the experience may look like. upon full release. We can promise you something very special for version 1.0”can we read in a communicated dated May 30. Stunlock estimates that Early Access will last around a year.

Dontnod changes its visual identity and teases its projects

Forget Dontnod Entertainment, the studio behind Life is Strange, Vampyr or even Remember Me must now be spelled Don’t Nod. Logo in support, the French firm unveiled a new identity on the occasion of its 14th anniversary, intended to “better reflect what Don’t Nod is today as a studio”. It must be said that the company headed by Oskar Guilbert has undergone several major changes in recent years, with the opening of a studio in Montreal and a new strategy oriented around the creation of value, thanks to the self-publishing of new licenses. developed in-house and an expansion into publishing games designed by partner studios.

With this logo, we wanted to reintroduce the apostrophe and the space between “DON’T” and “NOD”, in order to give full meaning to the name “DON’T NOD”. DON’T NOD is made up of two words that represent, as a company and in the games we create, our tendency to be unafraid to go against the grain and break the codes, also illustrated by the D broken and the N visible inside. This new logo links our creations – immersive and meaningful stories – to who we are as a company. Don’t Nod press release

Don’t Nod currently has close to 320 employees in France and Canada who share six games developed in-house, including five in self-publishing and one co-production with Focus Entertainment. By adding Gerda: A Flame In Winter, the game from PortaPlay studio which will be released on September 1, these seven projects correspond to the seven logos that scroll in the video below. They are all slated to hit the market by 2025.

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