Well, first it was PEGI leaking the existence of Life is Strange: Reunion and now Xbox did it as well. Now, about an hour ahead of when the official reveal is supposed to take place, Xbox Wire put up the announcement for Life is Strange: Reunion.
Life is Strange: Reunion is confirmed for a March 26, 2026 release on Xbox Series X|S and PC
Life is Strange: Reunion is now also available for pre-order on storefronts such as Steam.
Xbox Wire says that Life is Strange: Reunion will be "the thrilling finale to the Max and Chloe saga." According to this announcement, players will experience the world through the eyes of both Max and Chloe, with each offering "different-but-complementary perspectives as the story develops."
It all kicks off with a huge fire at Caledon University.
Max’s power allows her to undo everything… except the memory of her own actions. Of the way the world was before. Of everything she’s done — and everything she’s lost in the process.
Chloe’s return may be due to Max’s power, in particular, the power Max gained in Life is Strange: Double Exposure to Shift between parallel timelines — a power Max subsequently lost when she merged those timelines back together and recovered her ability to Rewind.
But Chloe is no prize to be won. No passenger in Max’s life or decisions. Both women have been shaped by their experience of the time they spent apart. Chloe’s choices, too, will shape the fate of Caledon: for the first time, Max and Chloe are co-leads of a game.
Chloe’s return may be due to Max’s power, in particular, the power Max gained in Life is Strange: Double Exposure to Shift between parallel timelines — a power Max subsequently lost when she merged those timelines back together and recovered her ability to Rewind.
But Chloe is no prize to be won. No passenger in Max’s life or decisions. Both women have been shaped by their experience of the time they spent apart. Chloe’s choices, too, will shape the fate of Caledon: for the first time, Max and Chloe are co-leads of a game.
Max can also "jump into the past" by way of photographs. In the announcement, they give an example of Max jumping into a Polaroid photo to escape the Caledon fire. While going back in time by way of a photo was something that was in the original game, Max was never really able to stay in that past. It was a temporary thing. Now, she is now able to stay within the past depicted in the photo and redo things over again from the point she took said photo.
Meanwhile, Chloe has been doing Chloe things.
As for Chloe, now the touring band manager of Drugstore Makeup, you’ll get to experience how she, too, has grown since you saw her last – without losing her essential character.
Whether it’s the sparing ‘power’ of Backtalk that still allows her to browbeat her opponents during key conversations, or just her whip-smart tongue during regular dialogue, Chloe has nothing to prove, and — when it comes to the rowdy townie crowd at the Snapping Turtle — zero ***** to give, if it means getting the answers she needs.
Chloe’s also not part of the University or its faculty — which means she can go where Max can’t, ask what she wouldn’t, and say the things that would never cross Max’s mind. But for all her toughness, Max has always been Chloe’s kryptonite.
Max and Chloe’s relationship is at the core of the story, a relationship that YOU will choose how to develop over the course of the game. Whether Chloe lived or died in Arcadia Bay, and whether she and Max were friends or lovers — these choices are key not just to the past you’ll confirm as you play, but to the future you’ll fight for the chance to build.
Whether it’s the sparing ‘power’ of Backtalk that still allows her to browbeat her opponents during key conversations, or just her whip-smart tongue during regular dialogue, Chloe has nothing to prove, and — when it comes to the rowdy townie crowd at the Snapping Turtle — zero ***** to give, if it means getting the answers she needs.
Chloe’s also not part of the University or its faculty — which means she can go where Max can’t, ask what she wouldn’t, and say the things that would never cross Max’s mind. But for all her toughness, Max has always been Chloe’s kryptonite.
Max and Chloe’s relationship is at the core of the story, a relationship that YOU will choose how to develop over the course of the game. Whether Chloe lived or died in Arcadia Bay, and whether she and Max were friends or lovers — these choices are key not just to the past you’ll confirm as you play, but to the future you’ll fight for the chance to build.
With that said, Emma also ensured ALL stories in Life is Strange are canonical (both Deck Nine games and the comics CAN co-exist without issue), but I will always have the ending to the comics be my cherished head canon. And no, I don't find the comics "woke" at all. It covered the whole gamut because it made sense in the Life is Strange universe. Not because it was shoe-horned in to check any boxes (I don't even think Emma had boxes to check outside of don't piss the gaming audience off). I'm personally done with Life is Strange with the comic giving me the closure I desired, in the way I like it. I didn't get True Colors either after seeing the fate of a character........Fly off in a freaking humorous fashion. I laughed at the traumatic event and couldn't take the story seriously. I would've been interested in Double Exposure until I read what the story was. Here's hoping reviews of Reunion convince me to return to Deck Nine's games.
I am disappointed that Life is Strange 2 is basically chopped liver. I get that it's a full and complete story with a timeskip, but... Damn... It's chopped liver. It's like the other series in the Power Rangers franchise. Nobody cares beyond Mighty Morphin.
I'm disappointed they didn't hired unionized actress Ashly Burch, but based on what I read on Reddit, fans are generally happy to see Before the Storm's Rhianna DeVries, so I shouldn't complain. I found Rhianna's acting in Before the Storm boring despite her doing her homework through Ashly's consultation, but... Again, fans are generally happy so I'm definitely the minority opinion here. And I should remind myself that Before the Storm takes place at an earlier timeline where Chloe's personality isn't supposed to be where Life is Strange is at.
I do find it interesting that DontNod director and creator of Life Is Strange's story Michel Koch stated both Double Exposure and the comics would not be the way he would've written it IF he were to do a sequel (which he wouldn't have done since he wants to show appreciation for how Life is Strange 1 ended for the players - though with enough time he did express interest in seeing the characters' future and growth and was excited for Deck Nine). Really thought Michel Koch would've done it similarly to Emma's interpretation of the future, but apparently not. He's not against what Deck Nine creates though as he completely understands (better than people like me) that the story isn't his and he's willingly accepted the work of other writers with their interpretations and new stories for sequels.
I guess I'll have to see if this game is the Battlefield 6 of Life is Strange. But I'll let the reviews go through the minefield first.
P.S. I like Life is Strange. And the comic version of Chloe is prettier than the Reunion version in my opinion. Not that it matters story wise. I'm being nitpicky and mean now.
He was the one who pushed for the comics to be made in the first place after the original Life is Strange concluded.
From the Xbox Wire post linked above:
Hmm... Why would they make a game that's so thematically similar to the comics based on their elevator pitch? I don't have a good first impression so far, but I hope they consider how solid Emma's writing was, and try to be at the same standard. I can understand if they make a sequel vastly different from the comics, but the challenges the characters face seem so similar here. But.......These are all merely first impressions of what was written, and clearly an uninformed and unreliable opinion of mine. Will have to let the reviews do the real talking in the future.
Thanks for pointing that out Zips. Definitely failed to read on my part.