But because you have to look good in front of shareholders, Team17's balance sheet begins by highlighting the growth in turnover, 186 million euros all the same, an annual increase of 12%. Among the 11 titles released last year by Team17, the astonishing fishing game Dredge is undoubtedly the main highlight with more than a million copies sold and a film adaptation in progress. Special mention also to Blasphemous 2, Moving Out 2, Trepang 2 and Killer Frequency, without forgetting Hell Let Loose which remains one of the group's best sellers. In addition to the Team17 games label, the subsidiaries Astragon (simulations) and StoryToys (educational applications) saw their turnover increase by 5% and 12% respectively.
As this negative net result shows, other new products did not meet expectations and profits were not there. Announced last October, the restructuring of the Team17 games label reduced the workforce to 348 employees at the end of 2023 (compared to 392 a year earlier). Always present in the background but removed from her position as director of the group in favor of Steve Bell, Debbie Bestwick (co-founder of Team17 in December 1990) keeps a seat on the board of directors, at the center of which is now the experienced Frank Sagnier, former CEO of Codemasters.
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Team17 indicates that it has 10 games in the pipeline for 2024. While the majority of these titles are external licenses, Team17 hopes to be able to improve its revenues and profits by giving more and more importance to its proprietary franchises over time. years, even if it means going through new mergers and acquisitions to strengthen its in-house catalog. This will be one of the missions of Ann Hurley, appointed general director of the games label to replace Michael Pattison.
“ Although 2023 presented some challenges for the games label, the speed and tenacity with which teams responded demonstrated the exceptional talent we have within Team17. The games label is now reoriented towards its low-risk indie model, tighter cost controls have been put in place and ad hoc measures have been taken to clean up the balance sheet. We are in good shape again in 2024, with a strong series of games and applications, our exceptional catalog and a clear growth plan for the games label, astragon and StoryToys. The year started well », Comments CEO Steve Bell.