Frontier Developments (FDEV) Trading update summary

Financial performance highlights

• Revenue rose 16% to £104.8m, with CMS games accounting for nearly 90% of total revenue in FY26.

• Achieved record adjusted operating profit of £19.0m, surpassing previous peak years.

• Cash balance reached £44.0m after share buybacks and EBT share purchases, up £1.5m year-on-year.

• Gross margin declined due to higher royalties from licensed IP success, but is expected to rebound with more own-IP releases in FY27.

• Benefited from new Video Games Expenditure Credit, boosting tax credits to £10.7m, with ongoing higher credits expected.

Franchise and product performance

• CMS games revenue grew 34%, now representing nearly 90% of total revenue, driven by Jurassic World Evolution 3.

• Jurassic World Evolution 3 drove strong engagement, will see a major expansion in June 2026, and surpassed JWE 2 in revenue over an equivalent period.

• Planet Zoo and Planet Coaster 2 showed strong performance, with ongoing updates and robust FY27 content roadmaps.

• Planet Zoo 2 launches October 2026 on multiple platforms, with pre-orders tracking well and strong community response.

• Elite Dangerous monetization changes are working, with renewed engagement and more content planned.

Strategic initiatives and future outlook

• Committed to releasing one new CMS game annually and expanding with a new owned-IP CMS franchise in FY28.

• Two major releases planned for FY27: Planet Zoo 2 and Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate - Deathwatch.

• Dedicated internal nurture team established to optimize content release timing and maximize player engagement.

• FY27 will see double the number of total releases (games, expansions, content) compared to FY26.

• Board confident in delivering FY27 in line with expectations, supported by positive market reception.