Summary
- Life is Strange: Double Exposure was met with mixed reviews and heavy criticism from fans when it launched last year.
- It seems it didn’t sell particularly well, either, as Square Enix has labelled it a “large loss”.
- Double Exposure’s disappointment was revealed during a recent financial report.
Square Enix‘s latest financial report has revealed that Life is Strange: Double Exposure was a “large loss” for the company, making a sequel look unlikely.
When Life is Strange: Double Exposure was first revealed as the long-awaited return of Max Caufield, it seemed like it’d be a slam dunk for fans of the series. Sure, there were questions about how it would handle the first game’s big choice, but bringing back the heroine that started Life is Strange in the first place seemed like a surefire bet.
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That wasn’t exactly the case at launch, though. Double Exposure was met with mixed reviews from critics and faced even harsher criticism from fans of the series, who really hated how the game handled Max and Chloe’s relationship and the series’ overall tone and canon. It seems those marks against it have made a heavy impact on sales.
Another Life Is Strange Looks Unlikely, As Square Enix Admits Double Exposure Was A “Large Loss”
As pointed out by ResetEra user Kirby64 and as originally reported by Japanese analyst Hideki Yasuda, Square Enix’s president, Takashi Kiryu, just shared the company’s recent financial results in a briefing. While most people are focused on the claim that Final Fantasy 16 only sold between 500k and one million in the last year, there’s worse news for Life is Strange fans.
According to Yasuda, the financial reports confirm that Life is Strange: Double Exposure’s sales were a “large loss” for Square Enix, something that was only made up for by the Dragon Quest 3 remaster. Specific numbers for Life is Strange weren’t revealed, but it is clear that it didn’t sell all too well.
This doesn’t come as much of a surprise considering the negative reception to the game from long-term Life is Strange fans, but there was clearly some confidence that the game would do decently. During the credits, a message popped up claiming that “Max Caufield will return”, something that now seems a lot less likely.
Square Enix sadly wasn’t taking questions during this financial report, so the details are a little slim regarding Double Exposure’s performance right now. All we know is that the company wasn’t happy with the results and considers it a “large loss”, a label that it’s previously used on games like Guardians of the Galaxy and even some of the Tomb Raider titles.
