A lot to look forward to from Dontnod… even if it’s not Life is Strange
Over the past few years, the Life is Strange series has become one of the most recognizable in gaming. Their releases have at least intrigued me every time I see a trailer, so I always look forward to checking out Dontnod games when they drop. It looks like I’m going to have my hands full over the next few years then, because Dontnod has announced that they want to release eight new games by 2025, two of which they’ve already announced. They plan to publish two new titles — one from Danish studio PortaPlay called Gerda: A Flame in Winter, and one from Studio Tolima, as well as six of their own original in-house projects.
There are a few rumors circulating as to what Dontnod Entertainment might be working on next. For example, the studio hasn’t expanded much into the action RPG genre, so there’s a chance that that’s something they’d be interested in exploring soon. They also said last year that Life is Strange is not a part of their strategy at the moment, as they want to focus on new IPs, so who knows what they might be cooking up.
Of course, they have really figured out their take on the narrative adventure slice of the games industry, so I think it’s safe to assume that they will continue to explore launches in that genre as well, if not immediately, then in the future.
While Dontnod is best known for the inception of the Life is Strange series (two of the main series entries, Life is Strange: Before the Storm and Life is Strange: True Colors, were developed by their sister studio, Deck Nine), their catalogue also includes some other, lesser-known titles.
Their debut title Remember Me did moderately well when it was released back in 2013. Their 2018 title Vampyr was a breakout hit when it was the Epic Games Store’s free game of the day after its release, garnering 8 million free downloads, and making it “the studio’s biggest financial success to date alongside Life is Strange 1,” according to Dontnod’s 2021 business review.
There’s no telling which direction they’re going to take the studio in next, but whatever they do, I’m excited to give it a shot.
