DON’T NOD Life Is Strange history explains why the developers of the original 2015 adventure no longer make new Life Is Strange games. DON’T NOD created the first title and Life Is Strange 2, but publisher Square Enix owns the franchise and continued releasing games made by Deck Nine.
Creative director Michel Koch said in an April 2026 interview that after Life Is Strange 2, the team wanted to make new stories while Square Enix continued the series with Deck Nine. He did not describe the studio being fired.
DON’T NOD Life Is Strange: why did the original studio leave?
Development began in 2013 on a game initially called WHAT IF?. Square Enix became its publisher, Life Is Strange was announced in August 2014, and its five episodes released between January and October 2015.
In April 2026, director Michel Koch described how Square Enix agreed to fund an unusual narrative game. Through that agreement, Square Enix acquired the rights. The DON’T NOD Life Is Strange collaboration produced the first game and a sequel, but franchise ownership rested with the publisher.
When did DON’T NOD last develop Life Is Strange?
DON’T NOD’s last numbered entry was Life Is Strange 2, released in five episodes from September 2018 to December 2019. It also made The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit in June 2018, a standalone story connected to the sequel.
The DON’T NOD Life Is Strange development team created Max and Chloe’s first adventure and the later story of Sean and Daniel Diaz. It did not develop Before the Storm, True Colors, Double Exposure or Reunion.
Did Square Enix fire DON’T NOD from Life Is Strange?
No official announcement says DON’T NOD was fired. Koch described the developers moving on to new ideas while Square Enix pursued more Life Is Strange games. He did not cite a dismissal or legal dispute.
The intellectual property already belonged to Square Enix. The DON’T NOD Life Is Strange change was therefore about the studio developing the next entries, not a documented legal removal of rights DON’T NOD previously owned.
Which developer replaced DON’T NOD?
Deck Nine Games developed Before the Storm, which released in 2017 while DON’T NOD was working on Life Is Strange 2. The two studios’ involvement therefore overlapped rather than changing overnight in 2019.
Deck Nine subsequently developed True Colors (2021), Double Exposure (2024) and Life Is Strange: Reunion (March 2026). Square Enix published the games. The DON’T NOD Life Is Strange creative split did not mean the series stopped.
What did the original Life Is Strange creators do next?
Original creative staff including Koch and executive producer Luc Baghadoust helped establish DON’T NOD Montréal. Its narrative game Lost Records: Bloom & Rage launched in two parts in 2025, telling a new story about friends reconnecting years later.
Lost Records is not a Life Is Strange sequel. Meanwhile, the Paris studio developed games including Vampyr, Jusant, Banishers and Aphelion.
Could DON’T NOD return to Life Is Strange?
No DON’T NOD Life Is Strange reunion project has been announced. Since Square Enix owns the IP, a new DON’T NOD-developed entry would require another agreement. Koch has welcomed the franchise’s continued existence, but that is not an announcement of a new game.
No new Life Is Strange project from the original studio has been announced. Its current catalogue and announced work are separate from the Square Enix-owned series.
Did the 2026 financial crisis cause DON’T NOD to leave?
No. Life Is Strange 2 ended in 2019. DON’T NOD’s French safeguard proceedings began in October 2026, seven years later. Deck Nine was already developing games in the franchise before that.
The DON’T NOD Life Is Strange history is about ownership and creative direction, not today’s funding problems. See our Life Is Strange ownership explainer for Square Enix’s rights, and our DON’T NOD financial update for the present studio situation.
Related Guides
Official source: DON’T NOD’s studio history and Life Is Strange timeline.
