Life Is Strange Refused Several Acquisition Proposals So That It Could Remain Independent

With studios of varying sizes being acquired in blockbuster deals by large business entities, Remember Me and Life is Strange developer Dontnod has steadfastly remained independent. Committed to maintaining its status quo, Dontnod CEO Oskar Guilbert explained in an IGN interview that the studio had turned down multiple proposals over the last few years.

"To be honest, we refused several proposals," Guilbert said. "There are a lot of people who are interested [in] the game industry and see the game industry as a new El Dorado for investing. We raised 40 million euros in January. But for us, it was really important that the historic shareholders still have the majority, and still can keep the company independent. That's something really important for us."

Guilbert further explained that the reason why Dontnod was able to develop the types of games that were linked to its brand, was because of its independence and its partners who had invested in the studio. The studio is still aware of the challenges it faces by developing and self-publishing its games, as well as its recent decision to be a third-party publisher.

Dontnod's approach is to remain slow and steady with the number of games that it publishes, so as to maintain a reputation that is linked to consistent quality. With Tencent having acquired a minority stake in the company, it has been able to focus more on these efforts.

"We don't want to become in two years, a publisher that publishes 10 games per year. We want to maintain consistency and quality in the lineup, which is our goal, [and] keep the editorial vision strong," head of publishing Xavier Spinat said. The company also plans to diversify its business between development and publishing so as to remain stable, instead of hedging all of its bets on a single make-or-break title.

Dontnod released Twin Mirror and Tell Me Why in 2020, both of which were met with generally favorable reviews. For 2021, Dontnod's biggest releases will be a remastered version of the first two Life Is Strange games, as well as the release of Life Is Strange: True Colors on September 10 for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.

For more on that game, check out our Life Is Strange: True Colors preorder guide.