Massive Layoffs at Telltale Games

[TheMysteriousGX]

Personal moral of the story: crunch time is bullshit, get paid for the hours you work, all the unpaid overtime in the world isn't gonna save your ass.

Like, did anyone really want a telltale game about Game of Thrones and Guardians of the galaxy? Or MINECRAFT?

Um, yes?

Minecraft, sure, but GoT and GotG are ripe settings for story-based games.

I feel like I should point out: of those three, Minecraft Story Mode was the only one that made Telltale any money.

 

[Burnouts3s3]

What a shame. Whoever ran that company better be exiled from the industry, or any leadership role for that matter.

I was really looking forward to The Wolf Among Us 2. It sounds like they spread themselves too thin. Very surprised they had released all these games and yet all this time only a couple turned a profit. Hopefully the people who busted their asses land somewhere much better.

 

[Burnouts3s3]

Personal moral of the story: crunch time is bullshit, get paid for the hours you work, all the unpaid overtime in the world isn't gonna save your ass.

Like, did anyone really want a telltale game about Game of Thrones and Guardians of the galaxy? Or MINECRAFT?

Um, yes?

Minecraft, sure, but GoT and GotG are ripe settings for story-based games.

I feel like I should point out: of those three, Minecraft Story Mode was the only one that made Telltale any money.

Agreed. What's the point of crunch when games turn out like shit, have shit sales because of it and don't make any money anyways. God forbid consumers learn to fucking wait in an industry that is purely for entertainment. If timing is that critical your business is on thin ice and poorly managed.

Really, if 90 people represent only 25% of a workforce to put out games where only the story and voice acting could be considered remarkable, something is very wrong.

 

[Asita]

On the one hand, I loved Tales from the Borderlands (even if I know for a fact that the 'choose your vaulthunters' part of chapter 5 is broken[footnote]I did so choose the "I am a vaulthunter" option and I certainly launched Scooter's satellite![/footnote]). On the other hand, I'm a bit surprised that they lasted as long as they did considering that the CYOA nature of their product was smoke and mirrors with less variation than they wanted you to believe.

 

[Hawki]

Ubisoft:
https://twitter.com/ubisoftstudiosf/status/1043258393639571456?s=21

Blizzard:
https://twitter.com/mtgworth/status/1043330604761153537?s=21

Of the two, it seems that Ubisoft is the only one reaching out. Blizzard is just saying "hey, BTW, we've got jobs available."

Still, hopefully the people at Telltale will get positions either way.

.

I feel like I should point out: of those three, Minecraft Story Mode was the only one that made Telltale any money.[/quote]

But...why?

This isn't actually a swipe at Minecraft mind you. There's actually plenty of tie-in novels and comics that have somehow been able to wrangle a story out of the Minecraft setting, so I figure Telltale could do the same. And in that sense, Minecraft has a lot of brand recognition.

...but so does GotG and especially Game of Thrones, so how the heck is it that MINECRAFT is the most successful out of those three? 0_0

 

[BrawlMan]

Ubisoft:
https://twitter.com/ubisoftstudiosf/status/1043258393639571456?s=21

Blizzard:
https://twitter.com/mtgworth/status/1043330604761153537?s=21

Of the two, it seems that Ubisoft is the only one reaching out. Blizzard is just saying "hey, BTW, we've got jobs available."

Still, hopefully the people at Telltale will get positions either way.

.

I feel like I should point out: of those three, Minecraft Story Mode was the only one that made Telltale any money.

But...why?

This isn't actually a swipe at Minecraft mind you. There's actually plenty of tie-in novels and comics that have somehow been able to wrangle a story out of the Minecraft setting, so I figure Telltale could do the same. And in that sense, Minecraft has a lot of brand recognition.

...but so does GotG and especially Game of Thrones, so how the heck is it that MINECRAFT is the most successful out of those three? 0_0[/quote]

Cuz kids love Minecraft. You see how merchandise of Minecraft lying around at a Books a Million, Gamestop, Wal-Mart, or Meijer. That's all I got, other than fatigue setting and Minecraft just happened to get lucky.

 

[Hawki]

Cuz kids love Minecraft. You see how merchandise of Minecraft lying around at a Books a Million, Gamestop, Wal-Mart, or Meijer. That's all I got, other than fatigue setting and Minecraft just happened to get lucky.

That's true, but it's not as if GoT and GotG are niche IPs either.

 

[BrawlMan]

Cuz kids love Minecraft. You see how merchandise of Minecraft lying around at a Books a Million, Gamestop, Wal-Mart, or Meijer. That's all I got, other than fatigue setting and Minecraft just happened to get lucky.

That's true, but it's not as if GoT and GotG are niche IPs either.

We can agree to that, but Minrcraft is more kid friendly and opens up a broader demographic by comparison. All three IPs started off as niche, but it did not stay that way for any of them.

 

[Elfgore]

I'm kinda curious how they've been losing so much money. I guess the licenses could be expensive, but I've read only Minecraft and the first Walking Dead game made money. That means they did at least nine games, ten if we want to count Jurassic Park, that lost them money. You'd think at one point you'd call it quits and move on.

Either way, feel bad for the folks who lost their jobs with no severance mind you. That's just fucked up. Hopefully they find work quickly.

 

[Saelune]

Oh no! But they made... *looks up every game they made* ...Nevermind. Nothing of value was lost.

 

[sXeth]

This isn't actually a swipe at Minecraft mind you. There's actually plenty of tie-in novels and comics that have somehow been able to wrangle a story out of the Minecraft setting, so I figure Telltale could do the same. And in that sense, Minecraft has a lot of brand recognition.

...but so does GotG and especially Game of Thrones, so how the heck is it that MINECRAFT is the most successful out of those three? 0_0

Nearly everyone with an interest in Minecraft plays videogames, so the entire demographic is potentially able and likely to pick up the product. Also Minecraft has no real canon for you to mess up or for people to already be invested in. Its fresh content.

A blockbuster film or a popular TV show/book series certainly is likely to have people who play videogames as an audience. But also fairly likely not too. And both those have their own stories and canon for people to find and experience without playing the alternatve universe game.

 

[Callate]

Most of what I've heard suggests that bad management tanked the company. They talked about turning their course, but they didn't allow enough time to build back a sullied reputation, instead believing that TWD alone would keep them afloat. About 250 people have just been let go without severance, and that's just an appalling and unprofessional way to treat people.

They made at least a couple of good games. The first season of TWD is one of the few genuinely emotionally resonant games I've had the privilege to play. I'm sorry it's come to this, and I hope that the many talented people who worked there land on their feet.

That the executives who sank it will probably sail blithely on to mismanage other companies, of course, kind of turns my stomach. (Why is anyone thinking "worked in management for Zynga" is a good thing to have on your CV?!)

 

[TheVampwizimp_v1legacy]

Damn, I had just heard about season 2 of The Wolf Among Us and now it's gone. Big bummer there.

Oh no! But they made... *looks up every game they made* ...Nevermind. Nothing of value was lost.

Right, just a couple hundred people's jobs, nothing that matters.

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

This is quite sad to hear. Am going to miss Clem, wolfy pig dude and the borderlands bunch. But if the working conditions and bad management are what they are, perhaps it's for the best in the interests of the long-term health of those employees. They really should unionise within this industry, as should any work force being pushed beyond their limits. Though if they're US based, that wouldn't help matters.

 

[tippy2k2]

I really really really really really really hope you're wrong...

While Season 3 stumbled a bit, I don't think it's nearly as bad as people seem to make it out to be. Clem deserves an ending damn it! :,(

Well since posting that, I've also heard that episode 2 might be coming out but 3 and 4 are cancelled as of now. It's just gonna be a 'wait and see' situation and see if the remaining people at Telltale want to shed more light on the entire situation.

https://www.polygon.com/2018/9/23/17892678/telltale-games-shut-down-the-walking-dead-canceled-clementine

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUK!!!! :,(

I suppose no one seems to know for 100% certainty but Clementine's voice actress says that she believes the series is dead and won't finish.

 

[Specter Von Baren]

I really really really really really really hope you're wrong...

While Season 3 stumbled a bit, I don't think it's nearly as bad as people seem to make it out to be. Clem deserves an ending damn it! :,(

Well since posting that, I've also heard that episode 2 might be coming out but 3 and 4 are cancelled as of now. It's just gonna be a 'wait and see' situation and see if the remaining people at Telltale want to shed more light on the entire situation.

https://www.polygon.com/2018/9/23/17892678/telltale-games-shut-down-the-walking-dead-canceled-clementine

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUK!!!! :,(

I suppose no one seems to know for 100% certainty but Clementine's voice actress says that she believes the series is dead and won't finish.

I guess you could say that since the series is technically dead now but never really got any kind of true conclusion that it's now, undead? Hhhhhmmm?

 

[MrCalavera_v1legacy]

Well fuck, i accepted that i won't get my 2nd season of Bigby, just to be greeted with news that Clem won't have closure either.
Here's hope someone else will do something with those properties while still maintaining some connection to TTs stories. (And also: Brings Sam & Max back)

 

[Abomination]

What kind of mismanagement was going on if they were not able to make any money?

The game engine was bare bones and used multiple times across almost all of their products. Sure they weren't selling for AAA prices but the cost of production was no where near as high as AAA.

Something is fucky, and I get the feeling the balance sheets are worth looking at.

 

[Dalisclock]

This is quite sad to hear. Am going to miss Clem, wolfy pig dude and the borderlands bunch. But if the working conditions and bad management are what they are, perhaps it's for the best in the interests of the long-term health of those employees. They really should unionise within this industry, as should any work force being pushed beyond their limits. Though if they're US based, that wouldn't help matters.

I know this is a stupid question and at risk of derailing the thread: How it Unpaid Overtime(Crunch in particular) not in violation of labor laws? Do the game industry employees just sign shitty ass contracts that waives their right to getting paid extra for anything over 40 hours a week? Considering how prevlent this seems to be in the industry I can only imagine there's some kind of standardized dodge that allows this shit to continue across the industry without the DOL looking into it.

 

[Batou667]

Damn, bugger, crap. I don't really keep abreast of dev blogs or the like these days so this legitimately came out of the blue for me. I just started Season 3, raised an eyebrow about the fact Season 4 was being released already (wow, that's a quick turn around, Telltale are really on a roll here!) - and it's all gone to hell. Bugger.

The fact that I heard about Wolf Among Us 2 for the first time in the same sentence that confirms it being canned is a doubly painful fact.

Oh well, I'll take consolation in the fact that I still have several episodes of TWD to play, and also the second season of Minecraft Story Mode to start. It blows my mind that Telltale wasn't turning a profit despite its cheap and cheerful engine and digital first model, though. As Abomination mentioned, that sounds like gross negligence if not outright fraud.