Life is Strange 4 is still in development and, while an announcement is imminent, the studio in charge finds itself at the heart of a new controversy which could well delay the whole thing.
As studio Deck Nine prepares to officially announce Life Is Strange 4, the excitement within the fan community is palpable. The franchise is known for its deep storytelling and respectful depictions of marginalized people. The announcement of the new title is therefore eagerly awaited, both by long-time fans and newcomers. But alas, the studio still finds itself in turmoil. A new investigation risks tarnishing his image and chilling more than one player.
Life is Strange 4 in the storm
IGN conducted an in-depth investigation (based on the testimonies of a dozen employees) on the climate within the new developers of the Deck Nine Games license and it is far from rosy. While the studio is preparing to announce Life is Strange 4 very soon, the climate is more than tense behind the scenes. During the development of the game, several employees discovered Nazi symbols and references integrated into the game itself. Among them the number 88 and other elements evoking racist memes or Nazi runes, notably SS insignia, without further details. Obviously, these discoveries aroused growing concern among the team, raising fears of a deliberate intention to spread messages of hatred in a game like Life Is Strange, known for its respectful representation of minorities.
The revelation of these symbols was only the starting point of a series of revelations about a problematic corporate culture within Deck Nine, marked by accusations of toxicity, hate speech, overwork (crunch) and management inaction in the face of serious problems. Testimonies from current and former employees shed light on how management allegedly allowed a toxic work culture to persist, protecting abusive leaders, intimidating “those internally pushing for more authentic representation in Life is Strange” and pressuring for intensive overtime.
A conflicting relationship with Square Enix
In the sights of these complaints, Zak Garriss, former creative director of the license who allegedly mistreated his teams and was at the heart of numerous internal conflicts. The one who had become one of the faces of the license in recent years even went so far as to oppose everything that had to do with the representation and the messages that made the reputation of Life is Strange. “We fought hard for everything he received praise from the queer community in True Colors. He had qualified authors from the community on his team, but refused to trust them. The theme of the game is empathy, power is empathy, but he didn’t really have any himself », explains one of the former developers. Garriss has left Deck Nine Games for some time now, but frustrations persist, particularly towards Square Enix, which was called a “tyrant” by one of the employees.
Relations between the publisher of Life is Strange and the developers are tense. Many point the finger at the London branch of Square Enix, its untenable deadlines and its last minute schedule changes which result in a lot of crunch. “Square Enix has always put a lot of pressure on our teams, so this toxicity has set in in our environment too,” confides an employee. To make matters worse, the publisher would also put pressure on the games’ storyline, showing hostility towards the themes appreciated by the Life is Strange community. Square did not want its license to become “gay gaming”, to the point of preventing developers from communicating on certain subjects before the release of True Colors.
A corporate culture that is the opposite of the game’s messages
For example, the teams were prohibited from saying that the protagonist, Alex, was officially and openly bisexual, whereas the other games in the license left the “choice” to the players. The publisher finally turned around when the press and players were able to get their hands on Life is Strange True Colors and rightly welcomed this approach. “ After that, Square Enix was in joking mode, Alex is absolutely and officially 100% bisexual », Comments one of the developers.
These revelations about Deck Nine shed light on the broader challenges facing the video game industry in terms of company culture, representation, and ethics in content creation. If we add to this the recent layoffs in February, with 20% less of its workforce, the Deck Nine studio still finds itself on a rather frightening downward slope. In any case, these new revelations did not fail to worry the community. “ As a Life is Strange fan, it’s super hard to read all this », Comments for example an Internet user. A feeling shared by many players struck by the dissonance between the philosophy of the license and internal reality.