In the latest of a string of disappointing news of mass layoffs in the game development industry, Telltale Games has reportedly let go a number of its employees.
The news first broke via a cinematic artist at the studio, Jonah Huang, who re-joined the studio to work on The Wolf Among Us 2. Huang said that the layoffs took place early last month and seemingly affected a large proportion of staff, using the words “Telltale laid most of us off early September” but stopping short of to what extent this impacts the production of The Wolf Among Us 2 because of NDAs.
Huang also says that the layoffs have come mere weeks after Telltale had acquired Flavourworks, a cross-media studio based in the UK that’s worked on projects like 2019’s Erica.
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, I can't say (NDA).
Now, I focus on what matters to me—my own game, and the following words:
Games industry, we must UNIONIZE.
1/5
— jjonahjonahson (@jjonahjonahson) October 5, 2023
Telltale has confirmed that layoffs have occurred in a statement to IGN, which doesn’t explicitly state the extent of the number of staff let go. The statement reads:
“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.”
After closing in 2018, Telltale Games announces a return in 2021 with The Expanse: A Telltale Series, which just launched in July this year. The Wolf Among Us 2 is set to be its next major release, with the statement assuring fans that it’s still in production but the full picture still unclear.
