The reason GoPro stopped making drones

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GoPro is responsible for the boom in the action camera market and remains one of the most popular action camera brands today. Its products, like the latest GoPro Mission 1 Pro, are capable of capturing stunning photos in the most adventurous conditions. But do you remember when GoPro made drones? The GoPro Karma drone launched in 2016 and was discontinued in 2018, without ever seeing a successor. In an interview with TechCrunch, GoPro CEO Nick Woodman revealed exactly why the company stopped making drones. There was a disastrous “domino effect” for the company resulting from poor sales of the Hero5 Black action camera, also released in 2016.

“If Hero5 Black had sold as expected at the original price of $399, we wouldn’t have had to change prices on all of our cameras, we wouldn’t have had to do a restructuring, and we would have been able to continue investing in programs like our next-generation Karma,” Woodman explained. His reference to restructuring was a gentle way of phrasing the situation; GoPro laid off more than 250 positions, or a fifth of its workforce at the time, in 2018 following the catastrophic situation surrounding the Karma drone.

GoPro’s history is full of terrifying ups and downs. In June 2026, GoPro (the link will allow you to download a PDF to your device) warned its investors that there were “substantial doubts about the company’s ability to continue” after a period of financial difficulties and another round of mass layoffs. With conditions like this being relatively common for the company, it makes sense that it wouldn’t risk another chance at the drone market. The GoPro Karma drone is a prime example of an overrated tech gadget that broke on its arrival, and its circumstances dealt a major blow to the company.

Another Karma controversy could very likely put GoPro in the grave once and for all. On the other hand, things are looking up for GoPro after discussions about a successful merger with Starman Optical and the release of a promising new product line. Travelers and outdoor adventurers still love using GoPro products, so much so that there is a wide range of useful accessories that GoPro owners swear by. If the positive factors continue to align, perhaps GoPro could successfully break into the drone market after all.