Games developer and publisher Frontier Developments (FDEV) raised its forecast for sales and earnings for FY26 to end-May. Shares in the AIM-listed group soared 20% to 400p on the back of the upgrade, the second this year.
Second upgrade
Frontier, which specialises in CMS (creative management simulation) games, is behind the popular Planet Zoo and Jurassic World franchises. Its portfolio also includes the space exploration title Elite Dangerous, F1 Manager and Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate – Daemonhunters.
The firm said the success of Jurassic World Evolution 3, along with strong sales of its other games, meant sales would exceed expectations. Having raised its guidance to £100 million in January, it now expects sales to hit £103 million.
The company said cumulative sales for Evolution 3 were ahead of Evolution 2 at the same stage post-launch. Moreover, had it not experienced delays in releasing new content, sales might be even further ahead.
Adjusted operating profit is also seen ahead of previous guidance at £16 million instead of £11 million. The firm put the increase down to higher than expected revenue and greater tax credits due to a change in the tax regime.
We are bulls of the video game industry, where the UK enjoys a wealth of small developers and publishers. Yet the market seems immune to their charms, and until today’s news Frontier shares were trading at nine-month lows.
Global sales of games software grew 11% to $189 billion in 2025. To put that in perspective, the global box office for films came to just $34 billion despite several blockbuster releases.
The market is predicted to grow by more than 9% per year to $300 billion by 2032. Mobile is the dominant medium, with 3 billion people playing on their devices, while around 1 billion people play on desktops.
With such a large addressable market and a strong portfolio of eisting titles, Frontier is well placed to continue growing. Meanwhile, its collaboration with Warhammer creator Games Workshop (GAW) allows for innumerable further releases.
Read the press release here:
https://www.frontier.co.uk/investors
