Life Is Strange fans are currently split over how developers have handled Double Exposure’s early access launch.
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Life Is Strange: Double Exposure isn’t released until October 29 and will set players back £49.99. However, those that paid £74.99 for the Ultimate Edition of the game can play the first two chapters right now.
Described as an “all-new murder mystery”, Double Exposure will see players reunite with Max Caulfield, the protagonist of the very first Life Is Strange game. However, the early access launch has annoyed a lot of fans, with spoilers posted across social media.
🥳 #LifeIsStrange Double Exposure early access to chapters 1 & 2 is available now! 🥳
See you all at Caledon University 🎓 Remember to protect the #SecretsOfCaledon with the hashtag when sharing what Max gets up to in her next chapter 🤫 pic.twitter.com/itoqj0KSMD
— Life is Strange (@LifeIsStrange) October 15, 2024
ATTENTION LIFE IS STRANGE FANS!
early access for life is strange: double exposure episodes 1 and 2 starts tomorrow. please be weary of spoilers if you are not going to be playing yet! and if you ARE playing, remember to use #SecretsofCaledon in your tweets so that
— safi’s gf (@chenshaven) October 14, 2024
And one plot point in particular has caused outrage with long term fans. “The new Life Is Strange game was a mistake and genuinely did not need to happen. That’s all I’m going to say. Should’ve just made a new story,” reads one post on X.
me reading the double exposure spoilers pic.twitter.com/3Yl4cTdy1T
— b (@lischaostheory) October 15, 2024
“The Early Access period is intended to enable the theory-crafting-what-happens-next that our community loved so much from our previous episodically released games,” wrote Deck Nine, defending their decision.
“That’s a nice way of putting ‘shameless cash grab’, reads one reply. “Imagine releasing a huge part of a story-driven game two weeks’ early behind a premium price. Read the room. People are buying it because of FOMO and to avoid spoilers.”
That’s a nice way of putting ‘shameless cash grab.’
Imagine releasing a huge part of a story-driven game two weeks’ early behind a premium price.
Read the room. People are buying it because of FOMO and to avoid spoilers.
As if a hashtag will stop spoilers from breaking out. https://t.co/CnTnwa8gGV
— Seventh Chairman Of The Tojo Clan, Adnan Riaz (@AdnanRiaz9) October 11, 2024
However, others who have paid for Ultimate Edition are also experiencing a number of technical issues with the early access window. “It is absolutely outrageous for players like me who paid extra just to help DeckNine playtest and debug,” wrote one fan on Reddit, complaining about frequent game crashes, poor PC optimisation and a bug that prevents them from saving the game. Other Xbox users have also reported not being able to access the game, despite buying the Ultimate Edition.
Earlier this year, Deck Nine had to release a statement denying reports of racism and harassment at the studio.
In other news, PlayStation has confirmed details of a massive world concert tour, featuring music from games such as The Last Of Us and God Of War.