u/Helpwithskyrim87

I've been wondering what people think about the future of the franchise, especially now that we're getting more information about the TV adaptation.

We now know that Rachel Amber has been cast, with Esther McGregor playing her, and there have also been rumours about other characters from Before the Storm being cast. This makes me suspect that they'll incorporate much of that storyline into the adaptation, rather than just borrowing a few elements from it. If I had to guess, we'll probably get at least one episode dedicated to Chloe, her past and her relationship with Rachel. It would make sense to establish their relationship properly rather than simply treating Rachel as a missing girl we never really get to know.

We also know that the producers are hoping for multiple seasons, but what that actually means is anyone's guess. Perhaps they'll create their own ending and continue following Max and Chloe, or maybe they'll eventually adapt True Colors and Life is Strange 2. Perhaps both. Who knows? But it certainly seems to me that they have some major ambitions for the franchise.

And I genuinely think this is the biggest opportunity Life is Strange has ever had.

That isn't just me being optimistic either. TV adaptations have repeatedly demonstrated their ability to introduce gaming franchises to entirely new audiences, bringing in new players and increasing sales of existing games.

There is actually some rather interesting research on this.

According to Ampere Analysis, TV adaptations have increased player counts by an average of 203% across the titles they examined.

A few examples:

Fallout: Following the release of the Prime Video series, monthly active players increased by 490%, with 14 million players engaging with the franchise. Remarkably, Ampere estimates that 80% of them were first-time players.

The Last of Us: Ampere estimates that the HBO adaptation attracted more than 4 million new players across its first two seasons.

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners: CD Projekt itself acknowledged that the anime, together with the 1.6 update, had a measurable impact on Cyberpunk 2077's sales, helping revitalise interest in the game.

And the effects aren't necessarily limited to a few weeks following the premiere. According to MCV/DEVELOP, sales data from G2A showed that Fallout maintained a substantially higher sales baseline throughout 2025 than before the first season aired. Interest also increased again in anticipation of the second season.

Obviously, these franchises are considerably larger than Life is Strange. I'm certainly not suggesting we'll see Fallout numbers. But even a fraction of that effect could be significant for a relatively small franchise like ours.

There's also the potential for merchandise, which I think is worth mentioning. Amazon has been actively expanding its merchandise and licensing business around its television productions. Fallout is another interesting example here. Amazon launched apparel, accessories, collectibles and other licensed products alongside the series. According to Marketing Brew, Amazon MGM's head of consumer products licensing described Fallout as its best-performing product line at the time, with some collectibles selling out within hours.

Life is Strange already has a recognisable visual identity, an established fanbase and characters people have remained attached to for more than a decade. I can easily imagine a successful adaptation creating demand for everything from apparel and collectibles to art books, soundtracks and new licensed products. Perhaps even making some of the older merchandise available again?

And this brings me back to something I've written about before. The franchise is currently in a rather strange position.

Life is Strange and Before the Storm remain two of its most established commercial successes, and the games centred around Arcadia Bay have continued attracting audiences for years. Yet Max and Chloe's story has now been declared finished, at least as far as the games are concerned.

So what happens if the TV series becomes successful and suddenly introduces hundreds of thousands, perhaps even millions, of new people to Max, Chloe and Arcadia Bay?

Naturally, that should translate into renewed interest in the original game and Before the Storm, potentially also benefiting the remasters and later entries. But it could also create commercial demand for more stories involving these characters, just as the gaming side of the franchise has decided to move on from them.

There is, however, another major complication, and it's something I tried to highlight in my previous post about sales figures.

The narrative adventure genre is struggling commercially.

Looking at the available sales estimates, the numbers aren't particularly encouraging across much of the genre. Life is Strange is actually still among its stronger performers, something I think people sometimes overlook when discussing the commercial performance of the newer games.

Double Exposure is an interesting example. Its sales figures aren't necessarily terrible when compared with other contemporary narrative games. In fact, I suspect quite a few developers working in this genre would be delighted with those numbers. The problem is the cost. With a rumoured budget of around $30 million, the game needed to sell considerably more copies to justify that investment.

And that's perhaps the biggest challenge facing the franchise. The audience for these games still exists, but is it large enough to sustain increasingly expensive productions? A game can perform reasonably well compared with its competitors and still be a financial disappointment if the development and marketing costs are too high.

This is also why I think the TV adaptation is such an important opportunity. It could potentially expand the audience at a time when the genre desperately needs new players. But Square Enix would also need to find a more sustainable production model for future games. A successful television series alone won't solve that problem.

I think that's an interesting dilemma for Square Enix. A successful adaptation could give the entire franchise a second wind, generate additional revenue from its existing catalogue, expand its audience and perhaps make further investment in new games considerably more attractive. And if the series runs for multiple seasons, that renewed interest might last for years rather than being limited to a single release window.

Of course, none of this is guaranteed. The adaptation still needs to be good, find an audience and retain it. But even a modest success could do wonders for Life is Strange, considering where the franchise currently finds itself.

And personally, I find that rather hopeful.

What do you think? Could the TV series revive the gaming franchise, and if it does, where should Square Enix take it next?

Some of my previous posts on the subject:

https://www.reddit.com/r/lifeisstrange/comments/1sf5qk8/no_spoilers_the_future_of_the_life_is_strange/

https://www.reddit.com/r/lifeisstrange/comments/1ts22c2/no_spoilers_life_is_strange_sales_compared_to/

Additional sources:

https://www.ampereanalysis.com/insight/tv-series-adaptations-boost-video-game-player-numbers-by-up-to-490

https://mcvuk.com/business-news/the-impact-of-the-fallout-tv-series-on-pc-game-sales-from-2024-2026/

https://www.cdprojekt.com/en/media/news/cd-projekt-looks-back-at-the-third-quarter-of-2022/

https://www.marketingbrew.com/stories/2024/07/17/inside-amazon-prime-video-s-consumer-products-licensing-strategy

Source: https://www.tumblr.com/thealexchen/827783749166104576/have-i-talked-to-any-of-the-cast-of-the?source=share