Optimizing and migrating Life is Strange: Double Exposure

2024’s Life is Strange: Double Exposure is the fourth major instalment of an adventure franchise, Life is Strange, that is now 10 years old.

Double Exposure is the third LiS game we have had the pleasure of working on. Since 2018, we’ve had a front-row seat to watch the franchise’s evolution, so we were thrilled when our partners, Deck Nine and Square Enix, asked us to join them on the LiS journey once more.

The challenge

Deck Nine approached us with a special request: migrate the next installment of the Life is Strange franchise, Double Exposure, from Unreal Engine 4.27 to 5.0 while main development is still in progress in Unreal Engine 4. We were also asked to help port the game to Nintendo Switch by optimizing content.

Based on the success we’d already had working on the franchise, our partner trusted us to execute. Here’s a breakdown of our work.

What we did

• We optimized the game’s levels for Nintendo Switch, using tools in Unreal Engine and those our partner developed.
• We created various 3D art assets, such as clothes, faces, and hairstyles, according to the game’s semi-realistic visual style.
• We improved Unreal Engine 5’s Lumen and Nanite technologies.
• We enabled hardware ray tracing for better reflections and real-time performance at 30 FPS.
• We provided content development instructions and in-editor tools for Acceleration Structures complexity visualization.
• We helped fix runtime issues after the migration process was complete.

The outcome

As the sequel to the original Life is Strange in 2015, Double Exposure satisfied both fans and critics, continuing the success of the franchise and strengthening its status as a cult-favorite game series.

For Room 8 Group, we once again showed the value we bring as a trusted long-term development partner. Our engineers and artists are the best in the business, and we thank Deck Nine for their belief in us—and for the opportunity to leave our mark on another outstanding Life is Strange game.