UPDATE: Telltale has officially come forward and admitted to the layoffs, in a statement published to its Twitter account. Citing “current market conditions,” it said it “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.”
Original Story:
Former Telltale Games developer Jonah Huang who goes by J Jonah Jonahson on Twitter claimed that Telltale joined other studios across the industry and laid off a number of employees last month.
In a Twitter post, Huang states “This is a sore subject, but I feel it necessary to add to the gaming layoff news: Telltale laid most of us off early September. Status of TWAU2 [The Wolf Among Us 2], I can’t say (NDA).”
Huang added “I signed an agreement not to cause any harm to Telltale’s business as part of my severance package. But I am legally allowed to speak on behalf of being laid off, and this statement of fact is sincerely not an attempt to cause harm or ruination to the company.”
It’s been a particularly difficult time in the industry as mass layoffs across even the biggest company’s feel rampant, and Huang making the Telltale news public appears to also be a part of a call for the industry to unionize.
Huang further added he “re-joined Telltale because I’ve always wanted to work on TWAU2 (as a fan of the original). Our team was very small and I was genuinely excited for the game.
Telltale has yet to publicize any of what has happened. This layoff came weeks after Telltale acquired a UK-based studio Flavourworks.”
That The Wolf Among Us 2 is being made at all, sounded like a miracle when it was first announced. After Telltale’s first collapse, its return has definitely been exciting for fans, but the fear remains that history could repeat itself.
Its first outing since it returned, The Expanse: A Telltale Story, PSU said the studio has returned in “fine form” despite noting some pacing issues which held the game back.
“I do not want Telltale to fail. I genuinely want to see it succeed. Telltale gave me a good deal this time around, but still, it ended the same way most jobs in games end: a layoff, not a retirement. I ask my fellow game devs to fight for better.”
Source – [JJonahJonahson on Twitter]
