PARIS, Oct. 29 — The video game Life is Strange returns with the latest episode in a story that defies convention by featuring an LGBTQ protagonist.
Life is Strange: Double Exposure hits stores today, just one week before the US election that highlighted deep polarization over cultural issues.
Elon Musk, the tech billionaire who has emerged as a key supporter of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, particularly criticized video game makers for featuring diverse characters.
In response to the game’s inclusion of a black samurai, Musk spoke out about diversity, equity, and inclusion last year, writing, “DEI kills art.”
But the creators of Life is Strange embrace their role in celebrating diversity.
“It’s ‘Life is Strange,’ so of course we’re going to have queer people in it, and we’re going to be talking about controversial topics and social issues and things like that,” Deck Nine Games director Jonathan Stauder told AFP. he said.
“It’s kind of built into the brand.”
“We don’t want to pave the way for something to be woke or political and not matter at all,” said Felice Quan, who is in charge of the game’s narrative.
“We want to be political. This franchise is political.”
As is usual with popular games, Life is Strange has counted around 20 million players since its initial release, but the developer has already faced backlash online.
Some fans were upset by the choice to bring back Max, the time-traveling heroine from the original version, and continue her story ten years later in a direct sequel.
In Double Exposure, she continues to track down the killer in different timelines.
“We definitely wanted an older cast with maybe deeper, darker issues,” Quan said.
French company Don’t Nod first developed the game, which was later picked up by American studio Deck Nine.
Don’t Nod’s Michel Koch, who co-created the original game but is not involved in the latest installment, called on fans to stop sending hateful messages to the developer.
Koch said of X: “You can be disappointed, and you can want a different story or a different story with the characters you love. But there’s no justification for hating someone because of how they made the game.” writes. —AFP
