Back to Punk: Devolver Digital Wants to Delist from the Stock Exchange to Focus Less on Reports and More on Games

Public company status proved too expensive and inconvenient for Devolver.

Devolver Digital plans to delist its shares from the British AIM platform and become a private company again. The publisher expects to escape the pressure of the stock market and simultaneously reduce annual expenses by approximately $1.6 million.

The decision will be put to a shareholders' meeting on September 8. Approval will require at least 75% of the votes. If the proposal is supported, the last day of trading for Devolver shares will be September 15, and the company will be delisted on September 16.

Devolver explains the decision by the specifics of the gaming industry. Development timelines are difficult to predict, and financial results heavily depend on the scale and release dates of individual projects. Such a business poorly aligns with the need to regularly report to the market and meet short-term investor expectations.

According to Devolver's management, pressure from the public market forces the company to pay too much attention to short-term financial results, which do not always reflect the long-term value of games under development.

Devolver also believes that the current share price does not reflect the real state of the business. In its June report, the company announced revenue growth of more than 60% year-over-year, but its share price was still more than 25% below the level recorded after the publication of 2024 results.

The company will offer interested investors to sell shares totaling up to $5 million. Another buyback for the same amount may be conducted within a year after delisting.

Devolver Digital went public on AIM in November 2021. Since then, the publisher has released over 150 games, and plans to introduce more than 30 projects in the next three years.