Frontier Developments, based in Cambridge, makes management simulation games in which players build and run theme parks, zoos and dinosaur parks. In 2023 its attempt to branch into other genres and third-party publishing failed, revenue guidance was cut, and the shares fell by about half. After refocusing on the simulation genre, it reported record adjusted operating profit of £21.4m on £104.8m of revenue for the year to May 2026. The latest close was 643p on 13 October 2026.
Parks, zoos and dinosaurs: what Frontier sells
Frontier calls its core genre Creative Management Simulation (CMS). It develops and publishes the games and builds them on its own COBRA technology. Its three CMS franchises are Planet Coaster, Planet Zoo and Jurassic World Evolution. In the year to May 2026 CMS games made 89% of revenue, up from 77% a year earlier.
Revenue comes from selling the games on PC and consoles, then from paid add-on packs and discounted back-catalogue sales. Paid downloadable content made 31% of revenue in the first half of FY25. Jurassic World Evolution uses licensed film IP, so each sale carries a royalty to the rights owner. That helped pull gross margin from 70% to 67% in FY26.
Outside CMS, the space game Elite Dangerous, more than a decade old, still grows revenue. A Canadian studio, Complex Games, is developing a separate unannounced game. Founder David Braben started the company in 1994. 9 Sep 2026 14 Jan 2026 10 Sep 2025 15 Jan 2025
2023: diversification fails, costs are cut
Frontier had tried to widen its range through third-party publishing and new genres. The company says this did not deliver the expected sales. In November 2023 it cut FY24 revenue guidance to £80-95m from the £108m analysts expected. The shares fell from 240p at the end of October 2023 to 121p by February 2024.
Management refocused on CMS games and ran an organisational review. It cut annual operating costs by about 20% and reduced staff to just over 700. FY24 still ended with a £28.4m IFRS operating loss, mostly non-cash write-downs of underperforming non-CMS games. Frontier also sold the RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 publishing rights to Atari for $7m. 9 Oct 2023 17 Oct 2023 27 Nov 2023 17 Jan 2024 2 Apr 2024 11 Sep 2024
“three future CMS games with one releasing in each of the next three financial years - FY25, FY26 and FY27” 27 Nov 2023
FY25: back to profit, with a mixed launch
The cost cuts and a steady back catalogue brought profit back. On 27 November 2023 the board had said it expected at least break-even in FY25, and it delivered more. FY25 adjusted operating profit was £13.2m, including a £3.9m one-off gain from selling publishing rights. Cash rose to £42.5m.
Planet Coaster 2 launched in November 2024 and sold over 600,000 units. The CEO said player sentiment was less positive than hoped, and Frontier responded with free updates and paid content packs. Those free updates were expensed rather than capitalised (booked as an asset), which pushed up costs in H1 FY26. 15 Jan 2025 10 Sep 2025 9 Sep 2026 14 Jan 2026
FY26: Jurassic World Evolution 3 drives a record year
Jurassic World Evolution 3 launched on 21 October 2025 and sold over 500,000 units in two weeks, above expectations. Planet Zoo became Frontier's highest-grossing game, with over £145m of revenue. The company raised FY26 guidance twice. In January 2026 it guided to about £100m revenue and £11m adjusted operating profit. In May 2026 it raised that to £103m and £16m.
In May 2026 Frontier also said it was working to resolve unspecified matters and return Jurassic World Evolution 3 to its planned content schedule. The company has not said what the matters were. The shares fell from 534p in November 2025 to 310p in April 2026 and ended May at 438.5p. 21 Oct 2025 6 Nov 2025 14 Jan 2026 12 May 2026 9 Sep 2026
“Frontier is working hard to resolve these matters and return to its planned content roadmap.” 12 May 2026
What explains the record
The 2023 setback came from moving away from the genre Frontier knew. The company and the chairman both say the diversification did not deliver the expected revenue. The recovery came from going back to simulation games, where older titles such as Planet Zoo kept selling for years, and from a cost base cut by about a fifth.
FY26 profit also had help from tax-related credits. Under the Video Game Expenditure Credit scheme, credits counted in adjusted profit rose to £12.8m from £6.8m. IFRS profit of £25.0m included a one-off £4.4m transitional credit that Frontier excludes from its adjusted figure. The September report gave adjusted profit of £21.4m, against £19.0m in the June announcement. The company has not explained the gap beyond describing how credits are counted. 11 Sep 2024 10 Sep 2025 10 Jun 2026 9 Sep 2026
New leadership, buybacks and a founder stepping back
Jonny Watts, CEO from August 2022, led the reset. An Executive Board formed in June 2025. Watts left, and Jo Cooke moved up from Chief Marketing Officer to CEO on 1 January 2026. Dan Lazarides, from SEGA Europe, became Chief Marketing Officer in August 2026. David Braben becomes a non-executive director on 1 October 2026 and stays President and Founder. A relationship agreement with him runs while he remains a director or holds over 15%.
On capital, Frontier completed a £10m buyback in October 2025 at an average 397p, then a second programme in April 2026 at about 373p. Together they cost £15.5m and cut voting rights by 10%. The 3,947,854 shares bought were cancelled in August 2026, leaving 35,530,681 in issue. An employee benefit trust also bought shares in May and June 2026, at prices up to 480p. A £5.0m special dividend (14.1p a share) is payable on 9 October 2026.
Braben sold shares in small daily lots across July to October 2025 and February to April 2026. He held 32.6% in February 2026. The CFO sold 50,000 shares on 11 September 2026. Executive share options lapsed unvested in 2023 and 2024 because performance conditions were missed. JPMorgan Asset Management's disclosed stake rose from 3.5% to 8.3%. 16 Dec 2025 2 Jan 2026 6 Aug 2026 9 Sep 2026 8 Jul 2025 7 Oct 2025 23 Apr 2026 11 Aug 2026 26 Feb 2026 15 Jun 2026 16 Jun 2026 24 Jun 2026 11 Sep 2026 27 Feb 2026 9 Oct 2023 15 Oct 2024
Cash up, no debt, new game out
FY26 revenue was £104.8m, the second-highest in Frontier's history, and basic earnings per share were 74.6p. Cash was £44.0m at 31 May 2026 after £17.5m spent on Frontier shares. Cash before that spending rose by £19.0m. By 31 August 2026 cash was £51.4m. The company said in January 2026 that it had no debt.
Planet Zoo 2 launched on 13 October 2026 on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, at £39.99 for the standard edition. The shares closed at 600p at the end of September and 643p on 13 October. 9 Sep 2026 14 Jan 2026 13 Oct 2026
One new simulation game a year, and what could go wrong
The board said on 9 September 2026 that it is confident of delivering FY27 in line with expectations. It has not published figures. FY27 ends in May 2027. Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate - Deathwatch is due before the end of FY27. An own-IP game that starts a new Planet franchise is in full development for FY28.
The three-game roadmap first set out in November 2023 is now complete: Planet Coaster 2 in FY25, Jurassic World Evolution 3 in FY26 and Planet Zoo 2 in FY27. The company added the FY28 game by September 2025. From FY29 it aims for an average of one new CMS game a year. On 3 September 2026 it announced a deal with Disney to develop and publish a game using Disney IP, with no date or title given. The Canadian studio's game was scheduled for FY27 in January 2026, but the FY26 results roadmap does not list it.
Several questions remain open. How well will Planet Zoo 2 sell? Will Jurassic World Evolution 3 content return to plan? How much profit depends on the credits, and how much on licensed games that carry royalties? Will the new buybacks the board expects in FY27, subject to shareholder approval, go ahead? Frontier also relies heavily on one genre, which made 89% of revenue in FY26. 9 Sep 2026 10 Sep 2025 27 Nov 2023 3 Sep 2026 14 Jan 2026
Written by AI from Frontier Developments's own announcements since Oct 2023 · every paragraph links to its sources