Frontier Developments – David Braben’s development studio based here in the UK – has today announced that it has applied for admission to the AIM (Alternative Investment Market) on the London Stock Exchange.
This means Frontier Developments can earn IPO (Initial Public Offering) fundraising, a process which enables a company to sell shares to the public in a bid to raise capital.
According to the news, Frontier Developments had £7.2 million in cash as of 31 May 2013 after raising £2.8 million in funding from various sources, including Elite: Dangerous £1.5 million from Kickstarter.
Fans haven’t taken kindly to the news, however, adding their discomfort with the news on Elite: Dangerous’ Kickstarter page.
Frontier staff are quelling concerns, however, be assuring fans that the developer is “currently making Elite” thanks entirely to the fundraising from Kickstarter. The “IPO isn’t related to that” and is “about the company as a whole”.
Though taking the company public is more of a risk than as a private company, the decision to apply for admission to the AIM should earn Frontier Developments additional capital to expand the business.