Telltale Games Confirms Layoffs, In-Development Games Remain In Production

Earlier as we speak, former Telltale Games cinematic artist Jonah Huang revealed on Twitter that he had been laid off from the studio in early September. In his tweet, he writes that “Telltale laid most of us off in early September,” and that the layoffs occurred weeks after the corporate acquired U.Ok.-based studio, Flavourworks, which developed Erica. 

Telltale has now confirmed to Game Informer that layoffs on the studio did happen, though its official assertion options no point out of simply what number of staff have been let go. The assertion does not point out severance for laid-off staff, however Huang notes on Twitter that he is acquired a severance bundle.

Here’s Telltale’s assertion to Game Informer, in full: 

“Due to current market conditions, we regrettably had to let some of our Telltale team go recently. We did not take this action lightly, and our commitment to storytelling and finding new ways to do so remains the same. We are grateful to everyone for their dedication along this journey, and we are working to support everyone impacted. All projects currently in development are still in production, and we have no further updates at this time.” 

Game Informer requested Telltale what number of staff it laid off, however was not capable of obtain particular numbers, departments affected, or additional updates past the above assertion on in-development tasks. However, as beforehand famous, Huang, who goes by J.H. based on their web site, says Telltale laid “most of us off.” 

These Telltale layoffs come years after the studio’s 2019 resurrection by new administration. In 2018, the studio laid off 90 p.c of its employees earlier than finally closing altogether later that 12 months. Pre-closure, Telltale was maybe finest recognized for its four-season, episodic sport, The Walking Dead. Roughly a 12 months after its closure, the corporate was bought in 2019 by its now-CEO, Jamie Ottilie, and traders with the need to convey the narrative-based studio again to life. 

The new Telltale appeared with a trailer at The Games Awards 2019 for its new take on The Wolf Among Us 2, a sequel that was reportedly in growth on the earlier iteration of the studio. The final we heard of that sport was again in March, when Telltale revealed it was delaying it out of 2023 and into subsequent 12 months.

While The Wolf Among Us 2 was the primary sport this new iteration of Telltale confirmed off, its first sport is definitely The Expanse: A Telltale Series, which it revealed and developed alongside Deck Nine, with its first episode launched again in July. All 5 of its episodes have been launched between July and September. The Expanse: A Telltale Series presently sits at a 76 on Metacritic. 

The hearts of the Game Informer employees are with everybody affected by these layoffs and people nonetheless on the studio.

[Editor’s Note: This story has been updated with a new image to reflect Telltale Games’ most recent logo, and to include mention that Huang received severenace]