Life is Strange: Double Exposure developer Deck Nine has shared a message to Twitter that it has laid off an undisclosed number of employees. Back in February, the studio let go of 20% of its staff, and the studio also suffered layoffs in 2023.
“Today, we are sad to share the news that we must say goodbye to some of our talented team members,” the message, attributed to Deck Nine CEO Mark Lyons, begins. “This was an extremely difficult decision and reflects the challenging times many companies in our industry are currently facing. We are extremely grateful to every individual who has dedicated their hard work, passion, and commitment to making transformative entertainment with us.
“To those of you leaving the studio due to these changes, thank you for sharing your talents with us. We are proud of what we were able to accomplish together and we are committed to supporting you in this transition in any way we can. To the community, we ask for your support and understanding during this difficult time.”
Deck Nine’s first round of layoffs this year came in February, well before the release of Double Exposure, and were attributed to “worsening market conditions.” This year’s cuts also came after Deck Nine let go of an estimated 30 people back in May 2023. Deck Nine took over stewardship of the Life is Strange series from Don’t Nod, producing the Before the Storm prequel game, 2022’s remastered collection, and the follow-ups True Colors and Double Exposure.
Deck Nine’s layoffs are part of the much-discussed wider contraction in the industry, and while that general crisis remains ongoing, the timing of this latest round of layoffs strikes me as a likely indicator of poor sales performance by Double Exposure, which came out in October. In our review, PC Gamer features producer Mollie Taylor found it to be an entertaining, but largely unnecessary sequel, writing that “Double Exposure does a lot of retreading old narrative ground of its predecessor: dead besties, sus teachers, secret societies, a third girl whose mystery permeates the overarching story… you get it.”
