Let’s start with the good news: Devolver’s turnover nevertheless shows economic growth with 123.2 million euros for the year 2022, against 89.8 million euros a year earlier, i.e. a nice progression of 37%. The operating result and the net result are on the other hand difficult to do with a respective loss of 90.7 million and 83.8 million euros, in contrast to the profits of last year.
The Lord of the Lambs
According to balance sheet information, business has been weighed down by game cancellations and underperformance resulting in asset write-downs, primarily at Good Shepherd Entertainment, the Dutch subsidiary of Devolver Digital which has been the subject of a subsequent restructuring. In all, four unannounced games as well as two prototypes were quietly canceled in 2022. The causes of these operational hassles that occurred in the first half of 2022 (which saw the releases of Shadow Warrior 3, Weird West, Tentacular, and Trek to Yomi) would have been identified and corrected since. Much better, the second half was also marked by the successes of Cult of the Lamb and Return to Monkey Island.
It was also in the second half that the Devolver teams were able to resume normal activity. Face-to-face interactions, studio visits, test sessions, conferences… so many relational parameters that can have a real impact on performance. Devolver Digital released 12 titles in 2022, up from 9 in 2021 while still maintaining a certain level of quality with an overall average of 78 on Metacritic (making it the 10th highest-rated publisher of the year on the ratings aggregator ). For the year 2023 and counting the recent Terra Nil which has already found its audience, Devolver Digital has between 10 and 12 games in the cards, most expected in the second half. Anger Foot (Free Lives), Wizard with a Gun (Galvanic Games) and The Plucky Squire (All Possible Futures) are among the projects expected this year. In addition to the back catalog section, Inscryption, Loop Hero and Death’s Door performed well in 2022.
” The return of face-to-face interactions and in-game conferences helps unlock the full potential of Devolver’s unique culture and experienced team of talented people. We saw this with the success of Cult of The Lamb, which broke all Devolver records for first day and first week unit sales on all platforms except 2020’s Fall Guys. Return to Monkey Island has also generated a lot of excitement since its release in September 2022. Together they contributed to a record average Metacritic score of 78 for games released in 2022 commented CEO Douglas Morin. Through its subsidiaries in the UK, the Netherlands, Croatia, Poland and the US, the Devolver group now employs 235 people compared to 210 a year earlier.