Lost Records studio Don't Nod hit with layoffs following poor financial performance

Don’t Nod, the developer behind Lost Records: Bloom & Rage and Jusant, is undergoing a round of layoffs affecting an undisclosed number of employees.

The details:

• As spotted by Game Developer, several former staff at Don’t Nod shared news of the layoffs on LinkedIn. Among those affected are QA lead Sandra Comier, cinematic and technical artists Mary Pouliot and Laurent Dufresne, and senior game and level designer Mathieu Tremblay. "I am saddened to say I was part of yet another wave of layoffs affecting the video game industry,” Tremblay wrote. “I am incredibly proud of what the team at Don't Nod Montreal accomplished with Lost Records: Bloom and Rage, and shipping the game with this level of quality was nothing short of a miracle in the circumstances. I wish for all others affected by this wave of layoffs to land on their feet quickly, as they are truly exceptional people."

• The job cuts follow the studio’s financial report in September 2024, which revealed the weak commercial performance of its recent releases, resulting in the studio refocusing its resources on select projects, including Lost Records. This was followed by an update in October that it was restructuring internally, putting 69 jobs at risk.

• News of potential layoffs was met with backlash from its workforce, causing employees to send an open letter to Don’t Nod’s management accusing it of failing to take responsibility for any shortcomings. Staff claimed that "short-term thinking" has led to poor business decisions and that higher-ups had been warned about the potential consequences several times in the past.

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