Life is Strange: True Colors, the latest release in Square Enix's Life is Strange franchise, arrived on September 10 and has been very well received. The excitement over the new adventure game has driven many fans to search out the original Life is Strange titles, particularly due to the announcement of the Life is Strange: Remastered Collection. It seems that the stars haven't aligned for the compilation's launch, however. Square Enix has now confirmed that the Life is Strange: Remastered Collection won't arrive until 2022.
The new release date for the Life is Strange: Remastered Collection is set for February 1, 2022. The announcement comes just over a month after it was confirmed that the Life is Strange: Remastered Collection would no longer be able to meet its planned release date of September 30. When a new release date wasn't announced in August, Life is Strange fans worried the delay would be substantial. That's now proven accurate, with Life is Strange: Remastered Collection now arriving four months later than expected.
A reason for the delay was provided as part of the initial confirmation in August. The explanation cited the ongoing pandemic as the main source of issue and that delaying the Life is Strange: Remastered Compilation would take some pressure off of the development team. Given the amount of work Deck Nine was facing with the release of Life is Strange: True Colors and its planned DLC, a delay is completely understandable. A four-month delay, however, perhaps implies some larger issues with the project.
The Life is Strange: Remastered Collection repackages the first two games in the Life is Strange franchise. It includes the original Life is Strange as well as the prequel Life is Strange: Before the Storm. Both games are receiving a visual overhaul, upgraded to a new game engine. Life is Strange is also receiving upgraded facial animations.
What's particularly frustrating for some Life is Strange fans, however, is that there's an edition of Life is Strange: True Colors that was supposed to include the Life is Strange: Remastered Collection. Those who paid for the Life is Strange: True Colors Ultimate Edition will now be waiting much longer than expected to receive all the content they purchased.
For those hoping to play the original Life is Strange releases before or after Life is Strange: True Colors, they both remain available for purchase across most major platforms. It's just the updated versions of the games that have been delayed. Of course, Life is Strange 2 also remains available, too. Expect further updates on the status of Deck Nine's Life is Strange projects in the months to come.
Life is Strange: Remastered Collection releases September 1, 2022, on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.