On February 25, 2026, French publisher Nacon filed for judicial reorganisation—a form of insolvency proceedings. The announcement sent shockwaves through the industry, arriving with brutal irony just days after the company promoted its upcoming annual showcase. This is the story of a publisher caught between two realities: a public face celebrating hits like RoboCop: Rogue City and teasing a future with GreedFall 2, and a private financial collapse triggered by its parent company's failure. The central question now isn't just about how Nacon arrived at this precipice, but what happens next to its games, its developers, and its ambitious plans.
The Sudden Collapse: Understanding Nacon's Insolvency
The legal trigger was pulled on February 25. Nacon formally initiated insolvency proceedings, a move that immediately led to the suspension of its share trading on the Euronext Paris exchange. It's crucial to note that this "judicial reorganisation" is a protective insolvency procedure in French law aimed at helping a company restructure and continue operating, not an immediate liquidation. The goal is survival, but the path is fraught.
The root cause lies with Bigben Interactive (BBI), which holds a controlling 56.72% stake in Nacon. According to the filing, BBI faced an "unexpected and late refusal" from its banking pool, leaving it unable to make a critical €43 million loan repayment. This failure at the parent level has dragged Nacon into a crisis of liquidity and confidence. The company has requested a French court to open a debt restructuring procedure, with a pivotal hearing expected in early March 2026. This legal mechanism could freeze the company's liabilities for up to 18 months, providing a temporary shield as it seeks a path forward.
Business as (Surreal) Usual: The Upcoming Nacon Connect Showcase
In a stark display of corporate dissonance, Nacon currently plans to proceed with its annual Nacon Connect showcase on March 4, 2026. The digital event is slated to feature updates and reveals for a slate of upcoming titles, including Cthulhu: The Cosmic Abyss, The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu, Edge of Memories, and the Endurance Motorsport Series.
The spectacle of a company promoting future products while in insolvency proceedings creates a surreal disconnect for the gaming community. It highlights the complex machinery of modern game publishing, where marketing schedules and development timelines, set months or years in advance, collide with sudden financial realities. The showcase will now be watched not just for game reveals, but as a signal of the company's operational stability and confidence—or lack thereof.
Games in the Balance: Major Titles with Uncertain Futures
The insolvency filing casts a long shadow over Nacon's entire portfolio, placing several high-profile games in a state of profound uncertainty.
Recent Hits and Ongoing Support
For recently released titles, the concern shifts to support and longevity. RoboCop: Rogue City, a critical and commercial success from 2025, recently received its Unfinished Business DLC. The future of any further updates, patches, or potential sequels is now clouded. The fate of live service elements or community support for titles like the recently updated Dragonkin: The Banished is similarly unclear.
The Imminent Launch: GreedFall 2's Precarious Moment
The most immediate and pressing concern is for GreedFall 2: The Dying World. The ambitious RPG from Spiders is scheduled to exit Early Access and launch its full 1.0 version on March 12, 2026—mere days after the insolvency hearing and the Nacon Connect. The launch, a critical moment for recouping development costs, is now fraught with risk. Marketing, server stability, and post-launch support plans could be severely disrupted.
Major Projects in Development Limbo
Looking further ahead, other major projects hang in the balance. The long-delayed Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown, the atmospheric action-adventure Hell is Us, and perhaps most significantly, the newly acquired WRC (FIA World Rally Championship) game license set to begin in 2027, all face an unpredictable future. The resources and long-term commitment required to steward these titles are now in serious doubt.
A Pattern of Trouble: Recent Challenges Leading to the Crisis
While the insolvency was triggered by BBI's failure, Nacon's recent history shows a publisher already navigating rough waters. The current crisis did not emerge in a vacuum.
Warning signs have been visible in the product pipeline. In December 2025, the company announced the indefinite delay of Terminator: Survivors, a major licensed title. This followed layoffs at Nacon-owned studio Spiders (developer of GreedFall) in July 2025, a move often indicative of internal financial pressure.
The company had continued to release games, including Styx: Blades of Greed the week before the filing and the RoboCop DLC, but these were evidently not enough to generate the financial insulation needed to survive the collapse of its parent. This pattern suggests underlying vulnerabilities that made Nacon particularly susceptible to the shock from its majority shareholder.
The Road Ahead: Restructuring, Creditors, and Employee Impact
The immediate goal, as stated by Nacon, is to "protect employees, preserve jobs, and renegotiate debts." The judicial reorganisation process is designed to provide a framework for exactly that: allowing the company to continue operating while it negotiates with creditors under court supervision. The potential 18-month liability freeze could, in theory, give Nacon's studios the breathing room to ship key titles like GreedFall 2 and generate crucial revenue.
However, the road ahead is narrow and perilous. Outcomes could range from a successful restructuring where creditors agree to new terms, to the sale of valuable assets or development studios to raise capital, or in a worst-case scenario, a liquidation of parts of the business. The interests of game developers, creditors holding millions in debt, and a parent company in freefall will all collide in the coming legal negotiations.
The human cost is paramount. Hundreds of developers across studios like Spiders, RaceWard Studio, and Cyanide are now working under the specter of insolvency, their job security tied directly to the outcome of complex financial and legal proceedings.
Nacon's story is now one of stark contradiction: a showcase of future ambition set against a backdrop of financial ruin. The company stands with one foot in a promising future of rally licenses and RPG sequels, and the other mired in the catastrophic legacy of its parent company's debt. While the legal process aims for survival and continuity, the fates of beloved franchises and the careers of the people who build them are suspended in uncertainty. The gaming community's attention now turns to two dates: the early March court hearing that will set the legal course, and the March 4 Nacon Connect, which will test whether the show can, against all odds, still go on. The outcome will determine not just the fate of a corporate entity, but the future of the worlds its developers have built and the players who inhabit them.
Tags: Nacon, Insolvency, Video Game Industry, RoboCop: Rogue City, GreedFall 2
Comments
Join the Conversation
Share your thoughts, ask questions, and connect with other community members.
No comments yet
Be the first to share your thoughts!