Life is Strange Promotes Mental Health Awareness With Video Campaign

This week marks the return of the Life is Strange series with the prequel Before the Storm releasing its first installment this Thursday. To promote both the game’s release and mental health awareness, publisher Square Enix is launching a campaign called “Your Friend, Me,” which will donate proceeds to The Jed Foundation.

The “Your Friend, Me” campaign was recently announced by Square Enix and aims to celebrate “the power and importance of friendship.” The studio is encouraging people to make short videos addressed to a friend with a simple, thoughtful message reminded them they’re loved. It can be a lengthy, emotional letter if you want, but a concise “Hey, you’re on my mind” will even do.

To enter the video into the program, all you have to do is upload it to any social media and use the hashtags #LifeIsStrange and #YourFriendMe. For every video posted with the hashtags, Square Enix will donate $5 to The Jed Foundation, for a total of up to $25,000.

The Jed Foundation is an advocate for the mental health of teens and young adults, partnering with high schools and colleges to strengthen substance abuse programs and suicide prevention programs. Square Enix wants to give everyone the means to help themselves and help each other — just like game characters Chloe and Rachel lean on each other.

If you happen to be at the GameStop 2017 Expo in Las Vegas, Square Enix has a few video stations set up specifically to showcase videos from the program. All submitted videos will eventually be compiled and posted on the “Your Friend, Me” website.

More details about the promotion can be found on the official “Your Friend, Me” site, which explains the full rules and details.

As for Life is Strange: Before the Storm, its first episode launches on August 31st for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.