Cookie Run maker Devsisters is going into cost-cutting mode after a rough start to 2026.
The South Korean studio reported an operating loss of 17.4 billion won, around US$11.7 million, for Q1 2026. Its net loss came in at 15.1 billion won, roughly US$10.1 million. That is a pretty painful number for a company best known for a franchise as globally recognisable as Cookie Run.
To deal with the situation, Devsisters has laid out a cost management plan aimed at getting the business back on a healthier track. The big picture: fewer loose bets, more focus, and a leaner organisation.
What Devsisters is changing
According to the company, the plan includes stronger management reforms, with executives being held accountable and a new Cost Management Task Force being formed.
Devsisters also plans to review its full portfolio and shift investment towards what it calls “selection and concentration”. In normal gamer terms, that sounds like fewer projects getting money for the sake of it, and more resources being pushed into the titles or teams the company believes can actually perform.
Another part of the plan is to build a more efficient organisation centred around core talent, while making heavier use of new technologies. The company also wants to reduce new hiring, move staff internally where possible, and offer voluntary resignations across the company.
That last point will obviously catch attention. Voluntary resignation programmes can still be stressful for workers, even if they are not the same as direct layoffs. But Devsisters is also cutting from the top: the co-chairs of its board of directors will work without pay, while key executives will see their compensation reduced by 50%. Recruitment will also be temporarily limited to essential roles only.
Why the numbers went bad
The issue is not that Cookie Run has disappeared. The franchise is still active and still has name recognition. The problem is that recent performance has not been strong enough to offset costs.
One factor mentioned is the underwhelming performance of Cookie Run: OvenSmash. Updates for existing live-service games also reportedly did not meet expectations. For a company built heavily around ongoing games, that is a big deal. Live-service titles need regular content drops, events and player spending to stay healthy. If those updates do not hit, revenue pressure stacks up very quickly.
Devsisters is still continuing work on the Cookie Run franchise, but it is not only relying on cookies. The studio also has other projects in development, including a 2D marine platformer currently codenamed Project Mish.
Why Malaysian and SEA fans should care
For players in Malaysia and Southeast Asia, this is worth watching because Cookie Run has always had the kind of mobile-friendly appeal that fits this region: cute characters, easy sessions, gacha-style collection, and live events that keep communities chatting.
Cost cuts do not automatically mean a game is dying, so no need to doompost yet. But they can affect the rhythm of updates, side projects, localisation priorities, marketing pushes, and how aggressively a company supports smaller experiments. If Devsisters starts focusing only on its safest bets, SEA players may see a tighter roadmap rather than a flood of new content.
The bigger industry takeaway is also familiar by now: even recognisable IP is not enough if new releases miss and live-service updates fail to convert. In 2026, mobile and PC players have too many choices. If a patch feels mid, players move on. If spending feels bad, they close the wallet. Simple as that.
For Cookie Run fans, the hope is that this reset leads to better focus instead of just smaller teams doing more work. The franchise still has charm. Now Devsisters needs to prove it can turn that charm back into sustainable momentum.
Source: Automaton Media