Starbreeze posts $6.6 million loss amid ongoing reconstruction

Starbreeze has been in dire financial straits for a while now, and the company is still in the process of refocusing its attention and efforts on core businesses to stay above water.

Closing out the second quarter of its 2019 fiscal year, Starbreeze reported net sales of SEK 160 million (~$16.5 million), a recent quarterly high for the company but ultimately a rise driven by the sale of the publishing rights for Psychonauts and 10 Crowns, as well as the sale of the studio Dhruva to Rockstar Games.

Looking just at revenue coming from games, Payday 2 brought in SEK 14.4 million (~$1.5 million) in sales, down from SEK 31.3 million (~$3.2 million) last year, and Dead by Daylight accounted for no income what-so-ever.

For the quarter, Starbreeze reported a loss rather than any positive net profit, sharing a SEK 64.4 million (~$6.6 million) loss for the quarter, significantly down from the SEK 42.5 million (~$4.4 million) net profit of Q2 2018.

“In the short term, our finances are now secured as we have divested assets belonging to our non-core segment which has generated liquidity taking us to the second quarter in 2020,” notes acting CEO Mikael Nermark. “The work with the long-term financing is on-going with multiple parallel tracks, while we at the same time are negotiating with our creditors. As an effect of the refocusing to our core business, game development with own IP, we have now taken actions on most of our non-core businesses.”

Nermark goes on to say that part of that reconstruction effort has caused the company to make “the necessary adjustments in headcount” to keep the company afloat. Later in the report, it is mentioned that Starbreeze employed 221 staff at the close of the quarter, down from 643 people just one year prior.