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Dontnod is getting into third-party publishing

Date Type Companies involved Size
April 8th, 2021 partnership Don't Nod
PortaPlay
Not disclosed
Dontnod is getting into third-party publishing

French games firm Dontnod is going to start publishing games from other developers.

The first of these projects is coming from Copenhagen-based PortaPlay, a studio staffed by ten people that is creating a new IP. This comes in the wake of Dontnod opening publishing and marketing departments last year.

"As a publisher, we want to offer players experiences that are both accessible to the wider audience, while setting the bar high regarding themes and quality of design," Dontnod's head of publishing Xavier Spinat said.

"From our first discussions with PortaPlay, it became clear to us that co-producing and publishing this original creation would allow us to expand our portfolio with a game complementary to our in-house productions, while remaining true to our DNA. We will be able to bring to our partner our know-how and our knowledge of the market, in line with our communities' expectations."

The head of development at PortaPlay, Hans von Knut Skovfoged, added: "We feel called to work on games with meaning. Games combining solid game mechanics and storytelling - about individuals in crisis situations tackling moral dilemmas. This new partnership is thus a great opportunity to us. Not only does it give us the opportunity to communicate with all the fans of Dontnod’s fantastic catalogue of games, but it also allows us to work with some of the best minds in this field – to help us improve our game and give the players the greatest experience possible."

In January 2021, Dontnod received a €30 million ($36.4 million) investment from Chinese tech and entertainment giant Tencent. The French firm currently has six games in the works and set up shop in Canada last year.

PortaPlay previously won the PC Indie Pitch at G-Star 2019.


PCGamesInsider Contributing Editor

Alex Calvin is a freelance journalist who writes about the business of games. He started out at UK trade paper MCV in 2013 and left as deputy editor over three years later. In June 2017, he joined Steel Media as the editor for new site PCGamesInsider.biz. In October 2019 he left this full-time position at the company but still contributes to the site on a daily basis. He has also written for GamesIndustry.biz, VGC, Games London, The Observer/Guardian and Esquire UK.