Life is Strange fans will have to pay $20 extra to avoid spoilers for Double Exposure

During the 2024 Xbox Games Showcase on June 9, 2024, SQUARE ENIX announced Life is Strange: Double Exposure. Max returns to our screens in the newest Life is Strange game, having appeared in the first game of the series as the main protagonist.

In 2015, we saw Max's powers for the first time as she rescued her childhood best friend, Chloe Price, from being killed by their classmate, Nathan Prescott. Though this isn't the first vision Max experiences, it is the first time she uses her new-found powers to rewind people and change the outcome of what she witnesses. We, of course, saw Max and Chloe again in the 2022 game Life is Strange: Remastered.

Life is Strange: Double Exposure will be available on Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PlayStation 5, and PC on October 29, 2024. The game will later be released on the Nintendo Switch, though a date has not been announced.

Fans and new players will be able to purchase three different editions of Life is Strange: Double Exposure.

There's also a Collector's edition for the game which, weirdly, doesn't include the game. This edition is $59.99 USD and comes with:

• A Collector's Editions Goods Box
• 12” Vinyl Soundtrack — featuring 13 songs from the game, on a two-color 12” vinyl.
• 32-page Mini Hardcover Artbook with exclusive concept art.
• Four Double-Sided 12” Artcards, which include the eight members of the Caledon cast.
• A Replica Owl Pin – as worn by Max in Double Exposure.

As well as the unfortunate decision to offer a Collector's Edition without the game, SQUARE ENIX are also allowing players who purchase the Ultimate Edition of Life is Strange: Double Exposure to play the first two chapters of the game two weeks before everyone else, on October 15. The standard edition is $59.99 USD, and the Ultimate Edition is $79.99 USD; a $20.00 USD difference.

This means that any fans who are waiting until the official release of the game on October 29 will have an extremely difficult time avoiding spoilers online. Players purchasing either of the less expensive versions of the game will likely have to go offline for the entire two weeks, staying off all social media channels — especially Reddit, where gameplay spoilers are posted quickly following the release of any popular game.

As you can see from the edition comparison, those purchasing the Standard Edition will also miss out on a bunch of downloadable content, including a cat-themed side-quest and cosmetics for Max which echo some of her original style and personality from when she was younger.

I have no idea which edition I'm going to end up buying, but I definitely feel frustrated by the idea of having a narrative-based game spoiled before I can even play it.

Looking to replay Life is Strange: Remastered before Double Exposure is released? Read our Pro Game Guides pieces on All known glitches in Life is Strange Remastered and All achievements and trophies for Life is Strange Remastered.