Deck Nine on the verge of closure? Life is Strange creators sought salvation in "Buffy" and "Conan" - rumor

Deck Nine, the studio known for the Life is Strange series, has found itself in a difficult financial situation, and its future is now in question.

According to former studio employee LadyDevHeart, Deck Nine worked on games based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Conan the Barbarian licenses, as well as a new The Walking Dead, over the years. The projects were in pre-production but were all canceled. The studio also briefly worked on The Wolf Among Us 2. The only major project outside of its collaboration with Square Enix that made it to release was The Expanse: A Telltale Series.

LadyDevHeart says that during the development of Life is Strange: Double Exposure and the next game, the studio spent more money than it received from Square Enix. In 2024, Deck Nine laid off about 20% of its employees, and later conducted another wave of layoffs.

Now, the studio's teams are gradually shrinking amidst work on Life is Strange: Reunion. There is no official confirmation of Deck Nine's closure yet.