Four French game developers simultaneously enter bankruptcy proceedings

Four development studios under French game publisher Nacon have filed for bankruptcy. Spiders, Kylotonn, Cyanide and Nacon Tech have opened rehabilitation proceedings at the Commercial Court of Lille Metropol, gaming industry media reported.

These studios are all headquartered in Paris, and each has been responsible for popular franchises. Spiders has been in charge of developing the Greedfall series, Kiloton has been in charge of developing the World Rally Championship (WRC) series, and Cyanide has been in charge of developing the Styx and Blood Bowl franchises.

The debt crisis of parent company Nakhon begins

This bankruptcy filing is directly linked to the financial crisis of parent company Nakhon. Nakhon began court-supervised rehabilitation proceedings earlier this month. A series of financial crises occurred when Bigben Interactive, Nacon's majority shareholder, failed to repay a loan worth 43 million euros (about 64 billion won).

According to Nacon, when a rehabilitation procedure under French law is carried out, debts incurred before the decision to initiate it are frozen for an observation period. This period can be extended up to 18 months, during which the debtor can propose a debt restructuring plan to revive the business.

16 out of 25 subsidiaries are development studios

Nacon currently has 25 subsidiaries, 16 of which are game development studios. In addition to the four studios that filed for bankruptcy this time, there is a possibility that additional subsidiaries may begin similar procedures.

Within the French game industry, Nacon was a mid-sized publisher with a significant development workforce. The industry's attention is focused on how this series of bankruptcies will affect the studios' ongoing projects and employees.