Video games are memorable experiences and it’s often tied to the staff who have made these games possible for thousands of gamers to enjoy. But when a studio makes the decision to abruptly close and lay off their staff without warning, what settles in is shock, confusion, and uncertainty for those involved and the projects now in limbo. This is the situation Telltale Games has found itself in.
When news broke last week about Telltale Games’ sudden shutdown and mass layoffs of most of their staff, with only 25 people remaining to finish off Minecraft: Story Mode, I had some difficulty processing the news. I thought it was a joke. How did one of the most famous studios in video games, the same one that brought us The Walking Dead, The Wolf Among Us, Tales From The Borderlands, and many others, just shutter? Weren’t they doing well? They had future projects lined up, like a Stranger Things game with Netflix. The Walking Dead: The Final Season was currently in the process of releasing episodes to close out Clementine’s story. It didn’t sound like a studio that was in trouble. Yet, there was much more going on behind the scenes than anybody ever realized.
The relationship between Lee Everett and little Clementine, the father and daughter type relationship they develop over the course of the first season, captivated as much as it shattered me to pieces. A combination of the tough decisions you would have to make as Lee along with the genuine heart infused into the story has made this one of my top favorite video games. After beating The Walking Dead, I believed Telltale was a special studio that would continue to do great things in whatever project they undertake next. This is why the announcement of their studio shutdown has been so disheartening.
The staff that was let go last week were not only blindsided by the news but they were told they would not be receiving any severance pay. It’s the biggest slap in the face to all the men and women who worked so hard to create a high quality experience all gamers can enjoy and remember. Of course, plenty of questions have been swirling since Telltale’s closure. What will happen to the remainder of The Walking Dead: The Final Season?
With the fate of the last two episodes of The Walking Dead: The Final Season uncertain and the hopes for a sequel to The Wolf Among Us dead, it’s an unfortunate end to what once was a studio that produced emotionally resonant games.
simpleek 
The Walking Dead game was pretty much the last game that I played before I stopped gaming, and it was truly excellent. I heard about this last week, and it’s certainly a very sad development, especially for the people that have lost their job😢
Considering that The Walking Dead was the last game you played before retiring from gaming, it’s a good one to end on. I can still recall some scenes from that game quite fondly. It’s really sad how the employees were let go. I do hope they all find better jobs in other video game companies who could use their skills and talents.
The people at Telltale who worked so hard to bring us such immersive stories deserved better than this. It’s a sad end to a unique studio.
My personal favourite is “The Wolf Among Us”, but of course the “Walking Dead” games are excellent too. I’d also like to show some appreciation for their less well received titles. The “Strongbad” game captured an internet phenomenon of a very specific time, the Sam & Max games (especially the final series) were great fun, and the unloved “Jurassic Park” game remains one title that I can’t recommend in terms of the gameplay (they were really still finding their form), but imho managed to capture the feel of the original film superbly.
I agree. The no severance was bad form on Telltale’s part. You can’t even give your former employees that much? Other than that, it’ll be difficult to imagine the industry without them creating more game experiences. My top favorites from the Telltale catalog are The Walking Dead, The Wolf Among Us, and Tales From The Borderlands. Although, I did like the other ones (Guardians of the Galaxy, Batman) as well. I’ve heard of their older games before Telltale became a name but never played them. I also think they did a Back to the Future one, didn’t they? Still, I really thought this studio and their employees would be one of the long standing ones for many more years to come.
The Back to the Future series was a little mediocre sadly. The main problem was that it was just a bit too slow paced, but it was a pretty interesting concept, and starred Christopher Lloyd as the Doc with a great Marty McFly voice actor and a cameo from Michael J Fox.
The Walking Dead was it for me. I’ve a couple Telltale games in my backlog, and I’d like to get to them someday. Given that there’s so much inspiration out there for games like the ones they made, It’s very sad knowing that we won’t see anything else from them.
I’m still having a hard time believing that this is really the end for Telltale Games. At least they’re leaving behind a great library of games for other players to hopefully discover and enjoy. I also think they made great contributions to choice and story driven narratives in video games that will continue to get explored and developed by other game developers.
RIP Telltale Games
Indeed. You were one of the notable studios to watch and one of the ones that’ll be missed by gamers the world over.