Devolver Digital have always done things its own way, including its famous not-E3 Devolver Direct presentations, which are more like drug-induced comedy skits than video game previews.
Today they are being very formal and business-like, with a press release announcing plans to cancel all the company’s shares and pay off the shareholders, returning the company to private ownership.
They list several reasons for doing so; It will save them money, trading on the share has been minimal, and they don’t think the price accurately reflects the value of Devolver. When they launched on the stock market the share price reached £211, today they are selling for around £8. The company’s share price halved overnight in June 2022 after it issued a trading update warning investors that sales of newly released games in the first five months of the year were significantly slower than expected.
The press release also states the following:
“The nature of Devolver’s business as an indie game publisher and developer is that financial performance is inherently linked to the timing and scale of individual titles. Development timelines can be unpredictable, and, as a result, financial performance can vary significantly between reporting periods and may not follow a linear progression. The Board feel this irregularity has not been readily compatible with the requirements of the market for semi-annual reporting with an emphasis on predictable, sequential growth. Consequently, the Company has at times faced increased pressure to deliver short-term market expectations that do not necessarily reflect the underlying long-term value creation potential of its portfolio and development pipeline.”
Or to put it another way, they want to release games when they are ready for the players, not so they can meet market expectations. That’s refreshing, isn’t it?
The publisher recently released Heave Ho 2, which we reviewed and rather liked, scoring it 8/10.
“There’s a lot of fun to be had in Heave Ho 2, whether you’re playing with one friend or in a group of four, together or online,” said Stefan. “Le Cartel has taken the swinging puzzle platforming of the original and built so many great new settings and inventive ideas around it. One or two more awkward elements can grate, but then you’ve got that perfect chancer move to fling yourself with perfect precision from start to end and the roar of surprised delight. A great sequel.”
Source: Devolver
