Deck Nine Games Is Continuing Their Square Enix Partnership
Deck Nine Games, the developer behind Life is Strange: Before the Storm, is officially creating a new title for Square Enix and continuing its external development partnership with the company.
“The partnership with Deck Nine has been a huge success,” said Square Enix External Studios head of studio Lee Singleton. “The opportunity to work with Deck Nine on another game was an easy decision, although we’re keeping the project details under wraps for now.”
“We couldn’t be happier. Our passion is meaningful storytelling, relatable characters and rich gameplay,” Deck Nine Games vice president Jeff Litchford added. “Square Enix is an incredible, world-class partner who shares our passion.”
Speaking on Life is Strange: Before the Storm, lead writer Zakariah Garriss spoke on the important aspects of the original title and the things they wanted to retain in the Deck Nine Games follow-up.
“For me, it’s the story’s willingness to focus on issues that games don’t really focus on a lot right now, or ever. It’s the prerogative now of the franchise to tackle social issues, to talk about issues that are difficult to talk about, and to take a game and utilize what games have that other media don’t have to explore and open a dialogue around things like bullying or depression or domestic assault or sexual assault: what it’s like to be a teenager.”
“I saw the courage that Dontnod and Square had in making that have primacy in their story. It was a story about time travel and quantum storms, but really when you listen to fans talk about what they loved so much about the first game, they talk about characters and the issues that they faced and how it resonated with their personal experiences with those issues or people with those issues. For me, it was getting to make a game that goes there. Some of those places, as a creator knows, are such an incredible privilege. It was exciting for me to do that in Before the Storm.”
Deck Nine Games, which is based in Colorado, is currently adding members to its team to prepare for their new title, including a new creative director, character artists, Unreal Engine 4 programmers, and additional help for its motion capture studio.