Deck Nine

History

Idol Minds was founded by programmer Mark Lyons and artist Scott Atkins. They had previously worked for Sony Interactive Studios America in San Diego and, after Lyons moved to Colorado with his family, established Idol Minds on April 1, 1997, in Boulder, Colorado. It developed multiple sports games under 989 Studios until the 2000s. Party game My Street and action-adventure Neopets: The Darkest Faerie followed*.* In November 2007, the studio released ragdoll physics-based game Pain, which was among the most-downloaded games on PlayStation Network of 2008. In October 2009, Idol Minds reportedly made 26 of its 46 employees redundant. One source attributed the layoffs to budget cuts by Pain publisher Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE), which was Idol Minds' only source of funding.

At E3 2011, SCE announced Ruin, a "Diablo-style action role-playing game" developed by Idol Minds and SCE's San Diego Studio. After the game was renamed Warrior's Lair, Idol Minds was taken off the project in April 2012 (Warrior's Lair was canceled by Sony in July 2013). Later in 2012, Idol Minds shifted its focus onto mobile free-to-play games. In August 2015, Idol Minds launched a crowdfunding campaign via Kickstarter for photo safari game Shutterbug, seeking in funding (The project was canceled after raising $2,973 in ten days).

On May 31, 2017, Idol Minds announced that it would focus on narrative-driven games with brand and trade name "Deck Nine", an homage to 1983 video game Planetfall. It built toolset StoryForge for creating these and was developing a project in a "critically acclaimed franchise". During E3 2017, publisher Square Enix announced Deck Nine was developing Life Is Strange: Before the Storm, a prequel to 2015's Life Is Strange. The game's first episode was released in August 2017, the second in October and the third and final episode in December. The Farewell DLC episode was released in March 2018. In September 2018, Deck Nine announced it was working with Square Enix on a new project.

In March 2021, Square Enix announced Life Is Strange: True Colors and the Life Is Strange Remastered Collection (containing the original Life Is Strange and Before the Storm), both remastered by Deck Nine, with Life Is Strange: True Colors being released in September 2021 along with the Wavelengths DLC episode later that same month. The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) supported Deck Nine with $2.5 million job-growth incentive tax credits and via the Colorado Office of Film, Television and Media (COFTM), the production of True Colors with $150,000 phased film incentives in 2017 and 2018. In December 2021, Telltale Games announced to be co-developing The Expanse: A Telltale Series with Deck Nine during The Game Awards 2021. After being delayed from a simultaneous September 2021 launch, Life Is Strange Remastered Collection was released in February 2022.

In May 2023, Deck Nine reportedly laid off 30 employees. The Expanse: A Telltale Series released its first episode in July 2023 with new episodes coming bi-weekly through the fifth and final episode in September. The Archangel DLC episode was released in November. In February 2024, Deck Nine announced that it would lay off 20% of its staff. In April 2024, IGN reported on a toxic workplace culture based on employee testimonials and suspected Nazi symbolism found during development of a new Life Is Strange game by staff during development. Deck Nine responded to IGN's inquiry emphasizing the studio's diverse team, employee welfare and collaborative development. In June 2024, Square Enix announced Life Is Strange: Double Exposure as a direct sequel to the original Life Is Strange, which was released in October 2024. In December 2024, Deck Nine laid off an undisclosed number of employees. In January 2026, Square Enix and Deck Nine announced Life Is Strange: Reunion, which is set to be released in March 2026.

Games developed

As Idol Minds

As Deck Nine

References

References

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