Today at the Xbox Games Showcase, Deck Nine revealed the newest entry in the Life Is Strange franchise. It’s called Life Is Strange: Double Exposure, and it stars the main character of the original Life Is Strange, Max Caulfield. It’s planned for release on October 29 of this year for Xbox, PlayStation, and PC.
In the trailer we saw today, we got a look at an older Max who still has strange powers. In this game, she’s discovered that while she’s unable to rewind time the way she used to, she now has the ability to experience two parallel timelines at once. The timelines are identical, but in one timeline, hew new friend Safi has been murdered, and the in the other, she’s still alive, but in grave danger. Using her new power, Max must solve and prevent both murders and reunite the two disparate timelines.
Max previously starred in both the original Life Is Strange (developed by series creator Don’t Nod) and prequel Before the Storm (developed by Deck Nine). Both Life Is Strange 2 and Life Is Strange: True Colors alluded to events in these games, but this is the first time Max’s story has been picked up in earnest by the video games since then.
Life Is Strange: Double Exposure will be available in a standard, deluxe, and ultimate editions with various digital and physical bonuses. Ultimate edition purchases will also include early access to the first two chapters two weeks ahead of the game’s releaset We can expect more information on Life Is Strange: Double Exposure in a livestream on June 13 at 9am PT.
Earlier this year, we reported on Deck Nine as part of a larger investigation into the company’s work culture. We found in our investigation that during the development of Before the Storm, True Colors, and Double Exposure, the C-suite had seemingly protected multiple abusive leaders, encouraged crunch, and allowed bullying of individuals advocating internally for more authentic representation in Life Is Strange. We additionaly reported on a number of canceled partnerships Deck Nine had experienced in recent years and subsequent layoffs, concluding that Deck Nine is largely dependent now on the success of the Life Is Strange franchise to continue to be sustainable.
You can catch up on everything announced at the Xbox Games Showcase right here, as well as everything Sony announced at its recent State of Play, everything we’ve shown as part of this year’s IGN Live, and the highlights from this year’s Summer Game Fest presentation.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.