A number of French studios known for games such as Styx: Blades of Greed, Greedfall: The Dying World and Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown are unable to pay the salaries of around 320 of their employees due to the bankruptcy of publisher Nacon.
A number of French studios known for games such as Styx: Blades of Greed, Greedfall: The Dying World and Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown are unable to pay the salaries of around 320 of their employees due to the bankruptcy of publisher Nacon.
As reported by Wccftech, Nacon is facing bankruptcy due to the financial crisis of its parent company Bigben Interactive. Although the publisher assures that all planned games will be released according to its release calendar, the development studios are already stopping payments to their employees.
According to French publication Origami, three Nacon studios — Cyanide, Spiders, and Kylotonn — have suspended payments to their employees and have been placed under external administration. Cyanide’s external administration also affects Big Bad Wolf, which is developing the game Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss.
The problems of the four studios affect about 320 game developers and their future, and in total, about 1,000 employees are gathered under the Nacon umbrella.
Cyanide is known for Blood Bowl, Of Orcs and Men, and Styx, with Styx: Blades of Greed still in development. Kylotonn worked on the FlatOut series, WRC, and Test Drive Unlimited. Spiders developed Bound by Flame, Steelrising, and the Greedfall trilogy. The future of these developers and their games, both announced and unannounced, is now uncertain.
Ukrainian gamers know publisher Nacon for its collaboration with Ukrainian studio Frogwares. After the release of the first part of The Sinking City, Frogwares accused the French company of non-payment of royalties and began fighting in court for the rights to the franchise.
While the lawsuit was ongoing, Nacon sold the game on Steam, and the Ukrainian studio implemented the project through its own website. In 2024, Frogwares won the court case and received the rights to The Sinking City.
