Life Is Strange Remastered Collection Release Date: February 1, 2022

The Life is Strange Remastered Collection released on February 1, 2022, for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC via Steam. It was also offered through Google Stadia and GeForce Now at launch. The Nintendo Switch version arrived later, on September 27, 2022, under a different name: Life is Strange: Arcadia Bay Collection. That distinction explains why release-date searches sometimes return two dates.

Life Is Strange Remastered Collection release dates by platform

For the original console and PC launch, use February 1, 2022. Square Enix’s release announcement lists PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Steam on PC, Google Stadia, and GeForce Now. The publisher also said the PS4 and Xbox One editions would work on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S through backward compatibility, so those consoles did not get a separate launch date for the collection.

Square Enix’s launch announcement confirms the February date and platform list. Google’s Stadia availability notice confirms that the service later closed, so Stadia should be treated as part of the game’s release history rather than a current way to play it.

Why do some pages show a 2021 release date?

The collection was first announced in 2021, with a planned release window later that year. In August 2021, the Life is Strange team said it was delaying the collection until early 2022 to give the team more time between releases. The exact date was then set as February 1, 2022. That is why older previews may mention fall 2021, while current product pages show a completed 2022 release.

The release window and delay are recorded in the team’s official announcement feed. The practical answer is simple: the collection did not arrive in 2021; its main editions launched in February 2022.

When did the Switch version come out?

The Switch edition did not launch alongside the February versions. Nintendo had announced the two remastered stories for Switch, but the platform release followed later. On Switch, the package is titled Life is Strange: Arcadia Bay Collection, rather than Life is Strange Remastered Collection. Nintendo’s official Switch listing gives September 27, 2022, as the release date.

The name change does not mean the Switch package is a different set of stories. Nintendo describes the Arcadia Bay Collection as containing Life is Strange Remastered and Life is Strange: Before the Storm Remastered, with visuals and character animation optimized for Switch. If you are looking for the games on Nintendo’s store, search for “Arcadia Bay Collection.” Its listing is separate from the console and PC product pages.

What is included in the collection?

The collection bundles two narrative adventure games: the original Life is Strange, centered on Max Caulfield and her ability to rewind time, and the prequel Life is Strange: Before the Storm, which follows Chloe Price and her friendship with Rachel Amber. The original games were released years earlier; the collection packages updated editions of those stories rather than a new sequel.

Square Enix lists updated character models and environments, improved facial animation and lip sync, lighting and engine upgrades, and changes to some puzzle gameplay. Before the Storm Remastered also includes its previously released deluxe content: bonus outfits and the “Farewell” bonus episode. The original licensed tracks and scores are included. These are visual and presentation updates to familiar games, so a remaster should not be described as a brand-new story or a guarantee that every old technical issue has disappeared.

Does Life Is Strange: True Colors Ultimate Edition include it?

At launch, Square Enix said purchasers of Life Is Strange: True Colors Ultimate Edition would also receive the Remastered Collection. If you bought that edition and are checking an old account, look in the library for each included game and confirm that you are signed into the platform account used for the purchase. The bundled entitlement does not change the games’ release dates, and it is separate from the Switch package’s later release.

The short answer

The main Life is Strange Remastered Collection came out February 1, 2022. Nintendo Switch players received the same two remastered stories later, on September 27, 2022, as Life is Strange: Arcadia Bay Collection. Use the later date when the question is specifically about Switch.