Life is Strange's original director feels "curious" about Max returning in Double Exposure at a different studio

Life is Strange: Double Exposure
(Image credit: Deck Nine)

Life is Strange's original director is "curious" about seeing the character he helped create return in the forthcoming Life is Strange: Double Exposure.

Back in 2015, Michel Koch helped bring Life is Strange to life in the director's chair at Don'tnod. Now in 2024, Koch is watching from afar as original series protagonist Max Caulfield returns in Deck Nine's Life is Strange: Double Exposure later this year, while Koch instead focuses on making the very Life is Strange-inspired Lost Records: Bloom and Rage at Don'tnod.

"I feel curious about it. I will definitely play the game when they release, and I looked at the trailer and I have some ideas of where they're going, but [I'm] really not sure," Koch said, speaking to GamesRadar+ at Gamescom 2024 about Max's Return in Life is Strange: Double Exposure. "So, yeah, I would say it's exciting, even if it can be a bit weird. 

"It'll be great to see where they go and it's always great to see new narrative games, because there are not that many, to be honest. And this is the genre I prefer playing. I love playing. So I'm really happy when there are more and hopefully there will be more attention to it so the genre does not disappear," the Lost Records: Bloom and Rage creative director concluded.

As things stand, Life is Strange: Double Exposure is set to launch later this year on October 29 as one complete package, while Lost Records is instead taking an episodic format with its release, launching Tape 1 on February 18, and Tape 2 on March 18 next year.

In an additional interview with GamesRadar+, Deck Nine spoke about the pressure of bringing back Max in Double Exposure, saying that "everybody now has the Max in their heads that we have to compete with." Read our full Life is Strange: Double Exposure interview for more from Gamescom.

You can also take a look at our new games 2024 guide for a look at all the new titles launching near the new Life is Strange entry in October.

Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.

With contributions from
Read more
Lost Records: Bloom and Rage
Life is Strange director says Don't Nod returned to its episodic roots in Lost Records because he's not "invested" in Netflix's binge model
Lost Records: Bloom and Rage
Lost Records: Bloom & Rage is bringing Don't Nod back to its Life is Strange roots, and nothing could excite me more
Screenshots of Lost Records: Bloom and Rage, one of GamesRadar+'s Big in 2025 games
From what we've seen so far, it would be a bad idea to sleep on Don't Nod's Lost Records: Bloom & Rage
Life is Strange
10 games like Life is Strange that are hella good
Swann, Autumn, Kat, and Nora jam out in the garage while filming themselves in Lost Records: Bloom and Rage
Lost Records: Bloom and Rage – Tape 1 review: "This Life is Strange successor is Stephen King, Blair Witch, and Yellowjackets all rolled into one – delicious"
Baldur's Gate 3 companion Shadowheart, a young woman with braided black hair and plated armor, smirking while glancing to the side
Baldur's Gate 3's Swen Vincke, feeling all "nostalgic," teases the "the story ain't over" for Larian Studios' "incredible journey"
Latest in Adventure
Pokemon Legends: Z-A screenshot
Pokemon Legends: Z-A will allegedly introduce 27 new Mega Evolutions, leakers claim, and we can only hope Flygon gets its chance this time
Minecraft Vibrant Visuals
16 years after Minecraft first released it's getting a modern visual upgrade with a retro lighting trick that Mojang hasn't seen "in any other game"
Minecraft movie image of Jack Black as steve
Don't expect Minecraft to go free-to-play anytime soon, as Mojang says "It doesn't really work with the way we built it"
Putting cigarettes in fish mouths in Thank Goodness You're Here
Thank Goodness You're Here's developer says it was trying to design a game normally before realizing "we're s**t at video game design"
Pokemon TCG Pocket Shiny Cards
How to get Shiny Pokemon in Pokemon TCG Pocket
Pokemon Legends: Z-A screenshot
Pokemon Legends: Z-A's director appears to be a Xenoblade Chronicles fan, and I'm now feeling very validated about a tiny detail I spotted in the upcoming RPG's gameplay trailer
Latest in News
Pillars of Eternity
10 years later, in a post-Baldur's Gate 3 and Avowed world, Obsidian is giving its own throwback CRPG Pillars of Eternity a turn-based combat mode
Destiny 2 Lightfall
When Destiny 2 "weekly active users dropped lower and faster than we'd seen since 2018," Bungie assembled an A-Team to put out some fires: "We needed to do something"
Velma, Daphne, Fred, Shaggy, and Scooby-Doo looking at a giant key which is also a clue
Netflix is rebooting Scooby-Doo as a live-action series from the producer of Supergirl and The Flash centered around a "supernatural murder" at a summer camp
Astro Bot
Astro Bot went through 23 pitch iterations before its director promised PlayStation "happy gameplay" and "overflowing charm," though it did once end with robot decapitation that made "some people really upset"
Tomb Raider
5 years after Avengers, 2 years after its last layoffs, and who knows how long before Perfect Dark and Tomb Raider return, Crystal Dynamics announces another round of layoffs
AI Limit
"AI is not as effective as it might appear": Dev of AI-focused Soulslike RPG says they didn't use any AI-generated content and it can't match "genuine creativity"