Telltale Games is shutting down
Telltale Games, the studio popular for developing 'The Walking Dead', is closing down. Earlier, there were unverified reports that majority of its staff had been laid off, and the studio, finally, responded in an official statement confirming the sad news. With the shutting of Telltale, we see the end of a great studio that gave gamers favorite titles like 'The Wolf Among Us'.
Fare thee well, Telltale
Fortunes turned sour for Telltale
According to Telltale's official statement, the company was shutting down for good, as its content was not getting the sales required to keep it afloat. Thus, the company, famous for its episodic narrative games, laid off most of its workforce without severance pay while retaining a skeletal team of 25 members to fulfill the obligations to its board and partners.
Everything passes, everything changes
Telltale's former CEO and co-founder, Kevin, commented that he was saddened to see people losing jobs which they loved. However, he was as saddened to see the closure of the studio that 'green-lit crazy ideas'. Notably, it was always Telltale's story design that set its games apart with choice-based stories impacting the narrative flow and gameplay in their episodes.
A short history of Telltale
Telltale came up in 2004 and its earlier works included Sam & Max and Monkey Island, which served as new entries in the classic LucasArts series. Always specializing in episodic narratives, its first big break came in 2012 with 'The Walking Dead' franchise. Since then, it moved from strength to strength, with games based on popular franchises like Batman and Game of Thrones.
A bad moon rising for Telltale
Things were going well for Telltale till last November. Then, it laid off 90 members, almost 25% of its workforce. Although the official reason was to restructure the company to provide 'fewer, better games with a smaller team', there were reports about toxic work environment.
How do things look for Telltale now?
Telltale was in talks with Netflix to have a new Stranger Things-based game. It was also in the process of coming out with the second season of 'The Wolf Among Us'. However, seeing the studio's condition, both projects stand canceled. The final season of 'The Walking Dead' which is currently going on, will probably see its end, though Telltale has not confirmed anything yet.
A final word in fond remembrance
This writer started his Telltale journey with the Batman series. What immediately jumped out was the effortless combination of choice-based narration and simple gameplay. Having played the critically acclaimed Arkham series, the action sequences were bland, but their storylines and dilemma of choices were captivating. Primarily, the characterization of Harley Quinn and Joker will remain a favorite. Goodbye Telltale, this gamer will miss you.
