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Life is Strange dev delays psychological thriller Twin Mirror into next year

Signs 12-month deal with Epic Game Store on PC.

Life is Strange developer Dontnod has shared two bits of news concerning its small-town psychological thriller Twin Mirror: the game now won't release until 2020, and secondly, Dontnod has signed a deal with Epic to restrict sales to the Epic Game Store on PC for a year.

Twin Mirror, which tells the story of detective Sam Hayes (and his alter-ego) as he returns home following the death of a friend, was originally scheduled to launch on Xbox One, PS4, and PC this year. However, Dontnod says it decided to push the release back into 2020 "in order to optimise the gaming experience and capitalise on Twin Mirror's success potential".

As for its deal with Epic, Dontnod says it opted to sign on the dotted line as the terms "ensure a more advantageous distribution of revenues". As such, PC players hoping to play the game on release are restricted to using the Epic Game Store until the 12-month exclusivity period expires. Unless, of course, the terms of this 'exclusivity' also permit Twin Mirror's release onto Microsoft's new Xbox Game Pass for PC service in a more timely fashion - as we've recently seen with Phoenix Point and Metro Exodus.

Cover image for YouTube video

Dontnod has also announced the acquisition of Twin Mirror's intellectual property rights - although Bandai Namco will still continue to publish, market, and distribute the game on console. There's also talk of a "transmedia" partnership with Shibuya Productions, allowing for "increased licensing potential".

According to the press release, Shibuya produces manga, documentaries, and fiction films, which could give some indication of where Twin Mirror might pop up next.