Nacon insolvency claims second studio as Midgar Studio liquidated with no buyer
Summary
French court ordered Midgar Studio liquidation on July 20, 2026 - second permanent closure in Nacon's collapse
Trigger was not studio failure: Midgar was demoing Edge of Memories at Nacon Connect in late May 2026
Root cause: a €43M drawdown refusal at parent Bigben triggered default on an €87.3M bond
Spiders and Midgar permanently closed; Kylotonn and Cyanide in limbo; Edge of Memories expected cancelled
"Despite every avenue explored and everyone who tried to help us, no solution could be completed within the timeframe of the process."
01
One banking dispute dismantled a five-studio network
February 13, 2026: Bigben's banking pool refused a drawdown on a new €43M refinancing facility
Banks alleged a contractual disclosure breach; Bigben disputed the interpretation and called it "unexpected"
Four business days remained before maturity on an existing €87.3M bond; Bigben could not repay
February 25: Nacon filed for judicial reorganization at the Lille Métropole Commercial Court
March 23: Spiders, Kylotonn, Cyanide, and Nacon Tech each filed individually - collectively over 320 developers
02
Debt-acquired studios carry no financial independence
Studios acquired via debt have no independent capitalization and no buffer against parent distress
Game sales rarely service acquisition debt alone, especially when releases underperform
GreedFall: The Dying World scored 63 Metacritic PC with a 17% OpenCritic recommendation rate
Test Drive Unlimited: Solar Crown and Blood Bowl 3 both underperformed commercially
French workers' union blamed management's "disdain for video game production and their incompetence"
03
Both closures followed the same failed-sale pattern
Spiders liquidated April 29 after no buyer emerged before mid-April deadline; ~75 staff laid off immediately
Midgar filed insolvency in late May, weeks after demoing Edge of Memories at Nacon Connect
No acquirer secured before court deadline; liquidation ordered July 20, 2026
Both studios founded in 2008 - 18 years old, never recapitalized after acquisition
Cyanide shipped Styx: Blades of Greed six days before Nacon's filing; Spiders shipped GreedFall 13 days before its own
04
Only one clean IP extraction so far
Slitherine acquired the Blood Bowl license, publishing rights, and back catalog from Nacon on July 1
Cyanide retained as developer under Slitherine for the ongoing series and Warhammer Blood Bowl
Kylotonn holds a pre-insolvency contract to reclaim WRC from 2027; no buyer publicly confirmed
ACE Team's The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu launched July 15 as planned, showing operational continuity
Edge of Memories has received no formal statement; cancellation is the widely expected outcome
05
Nacon's collapse is a proof-of-concept for subsidiary risk in debt-financed holding structures
Embracer underwent sweeping closures from 2023 after a major investment deal collapsed - same dynamic
Cheap-credit acquisition sprees of the late 2010s proved incompatible with game development economics
A studio has no mechanism to protect its IP or talent from a credit dispute it never saw
Subsidiary risk is not mitigated by studio quality, IP strength, or active pipelines - the contagion is structural
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