Idol Minds, LLC (
doing business asDeck Nine[1] or Deck Nine Games[2] since 2017) is an American
video game developer based in
Westminster, Colorado. The studio was founded in April 1997 by Mark Lyons and Scott Atkins and developed games exclusively for
PlayStation consoles until 2012. Subsequently, it shifted to
mobile games among other things before rebranding as "Deck Nine" in May 2017 to develop narrative-driven games. Lyons serves as
president and
chief technology officer of the company.
At
E3 2011, SCE announced Ruin, a "Diablo-style
action role-playing game" developed by Idol Minds and SCE's
San Diego Studio.[12][13] After the game was renamed Warrior's Lair, Idol Minds was taken off the project in April 2012 (Warrior's Lair was canceled by Sony in July 2013[14][15]).[16][17] Later in 2012, Idol Minds shifted its focus onto
mobilefree-to-play games.[18][19] In August 2015, Idol Minds launched a
crowdfunding campaign via
Kickstarter for photo safari game Shutterbug, seeking US$400,000 in funding (The project was canceled after raising $2,973 in ten days).[20]
On May 31, 2017, Idol Minds announced that it would focus on
narrative-driven games with brand and
trade name "Deck Nine",[21] an homage to 1983 video game Planetfall.[22] It built
toolsetStoryForge for creating these and was developing a project in a "critically acclaimed franchise".[21][23] During
E3 2017, publisher
Square Enix announced Deck Nine was developing Life Is Strange: Before the Storm, a prequel to 2015's Life Is Strange.[24][25] The game's first
episode was announced for release in August 2017.[26][27] In September 2018, Deck Nine announced it was working with Square Enix on a new project.[28]
In March 2021, Square Enix announced Life Is Strange: True Colors and the Life Is Strange Remastered Collection (containing
remasters of Before the Storm and the original Life Is Strange), both developed by Deck Nine, for release in September 2021.[29][30] The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) supported Deck Nine with $2.5 million job-growth incentive tax credits and via the Colorado Office of Film, Television and Media (COFTM), the production of True Colors with $150,000 phased film incentives in 2017 and 2018.[31][32] In December 2021,
Telltale Games announced to be co-developing The Expanse: A Telltale Series with Deck Nine during
The Game Awards 2021.[33]Life Is Strange Remastered Collection was released in February 2022.
In May 2023, Deck Nine reportedly laid off 30 employees.[34] In February 2024, Deck Nine confirmed that it would lay off 20% of its staff.[35] In April 2024,
IGN reported on a toxicity workplace culture based on employee testimonies and in-game
Nazi symbolism in Life Is Strange: True Colors.[36]
^"Games — Idol Minds Game Development". June 16, 2016. Archived from
the original on June 16, 2016. Retrieved November 4, 2018. Unfortunately, the title was not completed and in 2012 we shifted into mobile F2P gaming.