Master the Art of Espionage in ‘I Expect You To Die 3,’ Out Today on Meta Quest 2 + Pro

A secret agent’s work is never done. After saving the world in I Expect You To Die and I Expect You To Die 2, the Agency once again needs you to investigate a dangerous new threat in I Expect You To Die 3: Cog in the Machine. More clever puzzles await you in the latest entry of the spy-fi series, along with new customizable disguises and challenges that’ll test even the most seasoned operatives.

I Expect You To Die 3 is available now for $24.99 USD on Meta Quest 2 + Pro.

I Expect You To Die 3 takes you on six globe-spanning missions where you must outwit your formidable new foe, Dr. Roxana Prism. A former scientist and inventor at the Agency, Dr. Prism is now working for the evil Zoraxis Corporation and is using her cutting-edge research on robots to help them take over the world. As in past games, you’ll have to use your telekinetic powers and spy gadgets to escape nigh-impossible traps and situations. Some missions even have new movement options, letting you explore your surroundings like never before.

We caught up with several developers from Schell Games—I Expect You To Die 3 Game Design Director Francisco Souki, Audio Director Frank Lubsey, Project Director Matthew Mahon, and Visual Effects Artist Jeff Hoffman—to declassify some of the design secrets behind the game and what players can expect to see in this new adventure.

Frank Lubsey: Jared Mason developed the lyrics and melody for the song. As both our Narrative Design Director and songwriter for the intro credits sequence, Jared was able to leverage his dual roles to craft lyrics that reflected the soul and motivation of Dr. Prism.

We knew early on that we wanted Haley Reinhart to perform the vocals, so Jared kept that in mind while creating the melody. Once the melody was fleshed out and we felt good about it, I mocked up a demo backing track of the song to submit to the team and upper management. It took a few iterations, but I think version three was the one that we all felt good about.

After the demo was approved, we reached out to Bay Area Sound to develop the demo into a fully orchestrated composition. It was around this time that Jeff Hoffman began excellent work on the visuals.

Jeff Hoffman: Visual explorations started for the intro sequence very early on to establish the look and feel and a meaningful color palette. Once we had a draft of the song lyrics, I began the process of storyboarding out possible scenes and fun transitions that all reflected Dr. Prism’s personality and motives. We had frequent meetings with Jared and Jesse Schell, our CEO, to ensure the sequence was as true to her character and the story as possible.

Francisco Souki: We knew we wanted to make the most of the Quest 2 hardware, deliver new secret agent fantasies we hadn’t done before, and put players in epic situations. It was important to us to wow and challenge our existing player base but also impress newcomers.

Matthew Mahon: We wanted the game to feel larger. We added more player movement in this game. It was a bit tricky because it’s really important to us to keep the game comfortable and accessible to as many players as possible. We also leaned into transforming the play space as players move through the levels. There’ll be a lot of new things revealed as they progress through each mission.

MM: We wanted a strong character to really push the player. We also wanted the character to have depth. She’s a classic Bond villain crossed with Tony Stark—plus a dash of whimsy for good measure.

FS: Initially, we envisioned the custom disguises as a way for players to express themselves and to celebrate that they’d completed some of the hardest challenges in the game. This question is great though because as we played with these disguises internally, we found situations in which players assumed that a hat from one mission would have an impact in a different mission. So of course we had to implement it! Hah!

MM: Expanding a bit on what Francisco said, it was really important to us to meet player expectations. For example, we have a hard hat in the game that’ll protect your head from blows, so we had to consider what it means when players take a disguise into different levels.

We’re really excited about the self-expression it allows. We’ve seen players get into role-playing their characters. We think they’ll have a lot of fun with these items.

FS: Our new side objectives are more in tune with the secret agent theme. In past games they were more like riddles and souvenirs, but in I Expect You To Die 3, we’ve reframed them as side missions and challenges:

• To complete speed runs, you must be not only fast but clever. You’ll need to look for alternative solutions to the puzzles.
• Many side objective rewards are wearable, so you can bring them into any level.
• And for the I Expect You To Die historians, portions of the story and lore are only told through some of our side objectives.

FL: We opted for a cinematic approach with the music relative to previous entries in the series. In I Expect You To Die 2, all of the music came from a musical sound source located within the game world. For example, in the jet level, there’s a speaker along the bookshelf playing the music. In the shop level, there’s a radio where the music is coming from that could be turned on and off by the player. The only time we used “scored” music for I Expect You To Die 2 was during the final level of the game.

This time around, we relied heavily on scored music to give the game a more epic feel. Jared did a great job of crafting an intricate narrative, so we felt a scored approach was more appropriate to fully support his vision.

FS: There’s a new type of side objective called the Phantom Medals. They’re the hardest puzzles in the franchise yet, and I’m excited for players to experience them!

MM: I’m excited for players to experience our approach to motion in the new game. It lets us explore scenarios that would’ve been impossible in the earlier titles. There’s one scene in particular that I just love that we could’ve never done previously. I don’t want to spoil it, but let’s call it Sparticus. Players will know it when they see it.

FS: I love that we’re launching with multiple language support and lots of accessibility options. I want as many people as possible to be able to play our game. There was a lot that happened behind the scenes to widen the game’s accessibility that didn’t end up in a settings menu. For example, we did color blindness testing to ensure players could see the game as clearly as possible. We also did our best to create a game that can be completed 100% one-handed.

MM: We’re so excited to get I Expect You To Die 3 in the hands of players. Making these games is a labor of love and we can’t wait to see what people think!

You have your assignment, Agent: Don your best disguise and do everything you can to stop Dr. Prism’s nefarious plans in I Expect You To Die 3: Cog in the Machine for Meta Quest 2 + Pro. And if you want to hear more from the developers, make sure to tune in to the Schell Games YouTube channel at 12pm PT today for a special livestream to celebrate the launch!