Future Life is Strange games will reportedly be made by Before the Storm developer in the future
A recent rumor suggests Deck Nine "will handle" all Life is Strange games going forward
Future Life is Strange games will allegedly not be developed by the game's original studio Dontnod.
According to industry insider Emily Rogers, Life is Strange: Before the Storm developer Deck Nine "will handle all games related to Life is Strange" in the future. Rogers claims that "Square and Dontnod parted ways a long, long time ago", and adds that it had "very little to do with this Tencent deal".
Just to re-iterate on my previous tweet:Going forward, Deck Nine will handle all games related to "Life is Strange". Square and Dontnod parted ways a long, long time ago. It had very little to do with this Tencent deal.https://t.co/APJFscD1rnJanuary 28, 2021
Currently, there's been no official confirmation that Dontnod will no longer have a hand in creating future Life is Strange projects. After reaching out for clarification, Square Enix got back to us to say that it doesn’t comment on rumor or speculation.
Dontnod Entertainment, the studio behind Life is Strange, Life is Strange 2, Vampyr, and the more recent Tell My Why and Twin Mirror releases, announced earlier this week that Chinese tech company Tencent has invested a minority stake in the developer.
"The funds raised will mainly be used to finance the ramp-up of DONTNOD's strategy to develop new self-published intellectual properties worldwide on PC, consoles and mobile platforms," the press release reads, "and thereby take full advantage of positive trends within the industry for creators of internationally renowned and original games, such as DONTNOD."
We don't yet know what these future projects from Dontnod Entertainment will be, but a report in November revealed that the developer is currently working on six new projects.
Tencent also recently acquired a majority stake in Don't Starve developer Klei Entertainment. Klei founder Jamie "Bigfoot" Cheng offered assurances that "as part of this agreement, Klei retains full autonomy of creative and operations across all aspects of the studio, including projects, talent, and more" in a post on the studio's forums.
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In other news, Life is Strange co-creator reveals post-apocalyptic adventure Ashwalkers: A Survival Journey.
I started out writing for the games section of a student-run website as an undergrad, and continued to write about games in my free time during retail and temp jobs for a number of years. Eventually, I earned an MA in magazine journalism at Cardiff University, and soon after got my first official role in the industry as a content editor for Stuff magazine. After writing about all things tech and games-related, I then did a brief stint as a freelancer before I landed my role as a staff writer here at 12DOVE. Now I get to write features, previews, and reviews, and when I'm not doing that, you can usually find me lost in any one of the Dragon Age or Mass Effect games, tucking into another delightful indie, or drinking far too much tea for my own good.