The unfortunate sudden closure of Telltale is a tale of mismanagement and a worrying case of how volatile the jobs of game developers. Many games in progress are cancelled including Stranger Things and The Walking Dead Final Season which was still undergoing. But more importantly, the 250 employees being laid off so suddenly without severance package is just unacceptable, to the point our crew had some choice words for the situation.
But The Walking Dead, the game that took the studio to stardom, will see a proper end perhaps. Skybound, the company owned by Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman, has now taken ownership of the game, with the intention to bring back former developers that were working on the game to finish it off.
“The game industry is always filled with challenges. It’s hard making games,” Murray said speaking to Variety. “Whenever something like this comes up, our intention is to try and do the right thing, not just by the brand, but by the fans.
“This was our chance to do both. It’s also our intention to make sure to do right by the people we were working with. This is a business that is made by people, and when things like this happen there is a human cost. We are trying to do what we can to work with the original staff and provide a soft landing.”
When asked on how the specifics on how to get the former developers on board again, he declined to comment.
While the intentional is good to hear, there’s too many things up in the air still. Will the developers be hired full time or just to finish the two remaining episodes of the Final Season? How many of these developers would be willing to finish the game rather than finding jobs at other, relatively more secure roles at other companies?
It’s not something to cheer about just yet, but we will see if any good develops from here.
Source: Variety