Life Is Strange Series' Future Might Be In Doubt as Jonathan Zimmerman Now Works at Blizzard

Despite the success of Life is Strange: Reunion, released this March—both commercially and critically—Deck Nine, the studio behind five games in the franchise, has recently lost several key staff members. There is no talk of the studio shutting down just yet, thankfully, but yet another departure raises real questions about the series' future.

As spotted by user AdnanRiaz9, Jonathan Zimmerman, who had been at Deck Nine since 2016, has left the studio for Blizzard Entertainment, as confirmed by his LinkedIn profile. He played a major role across the Life is Strange franchise as he served as the lead writer on Life is Strange: Before the Storm, narrative director on Life is Strange: True Colors and Life is Strange: Double Exposure, and writer and co-game director on Life is Strange: Reunion. That is truly a significant loss for the studio, and hopefully it won't spell the end for the franchise.

Life Is Strange: Reunion co-director Jonathan Zimmerman has now moved to Blizzard Entertainment.

He was previously at Telltale Games in 2025 after he left Life Is Strange: True Colors developer Deck Nine.

Several other key developers left the studio this May as well, including Deck Nine's lead programmer, Damien Kochanek. Despite these changes, last month it was revealed that Life is Strange: Reunion's sales exceeded Square Enix's expectations. Anyway, neither Square Enix nor Deck Nine has shared anything about the franchise's future yet. And while it's possible the series might end up after Life is Strange: Reunion, the book Life is Strange: Welcome to Caledon University may have teased at what a future game could look like. It follows Safi and Diamond as they track down characters from earlier Life is Strange games, including Daniel from Life is Strange 2 and Alex from Life is Strange: True Colors. You can also check out what's next for the franchise.

Additionally, the Life is Strange TV series is in development for Amazon Prime Video. The lead roles will be played by Tatum Grace Hopkins (Max Caulfield) and Maisy Stella (Chloe Price)—and speaking on the latter, another look at Stella's character recently surfaced. The show is set to premiere in 2027, though the exact date is still unknown.