Telltale Games CEO Steps Down

Steven Bogos

The Taco Man
Jan 17, 2013
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Telltale Games CEO Steps Down

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Telltale CEO Kevin Bruner has stepped down from his position this week.

Kevin Burner has stepped down from his position as Telltale Games CEO, Telltale head of creative communications Job Stauffer tells Kotaku [http://kotaku.com/sources-telltale-ceo-steps-down-1793337676]. "Kevin has led Telltale over the past couple of years after he stepped into the CEO role for co-founder Dan Connors in 2015. With Kevin departing, Telltale is fortunate to have Dan here to step back seamlessly into the CEO role," said Stauffer in an official statement.

Kotaku claims to have also received an email penned by Burner himself from an anonymous source. "Today I am writing to let you know that I'll be stepping away from my position as CEO of Telltale," Burner reportedly wrote.

"We've grown aggressively since Telltale's inception, and now Telltale is bigger than I ever dreamed it would be. There are many possible futures for Telltale, and all of them are exciting and uniquely challenging. The time has come to pass the reins to someone that can better drive Telltale to the next level and realize all the potential that is here."

Bruner had been CEO of Telltale since January of 2015, and says that he will stay on the Board of Directors.

Conners, the new and previous CEO, was one of Telltale's co-founders when the company first started back in 2004.

Source: Kotaku [http://kotaku.com/sources-telltale-ceo-steps-down-1793337676]

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shrekfan246

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May 26, 2011
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The gaming community won't remember that.

Seriously though, for all of the importance I'm sure they have, CEOs of gaming companies really just kind of seem interchangeable.
 

Zydrate

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shrekfan246 said:
The gaming community won't remember that.

Seriously though, for all of the importance I'm sure they have, CEOs of gaming companies really just kind of seem interchangeable.
I had this thought but didn't want to be harsh. Glad someone else said it before I did :p
I feel like most of the credit to good stuff goes to devs, not CEO's. I'm sure they oversee things and lead to great decisions but I'm not sure what Gaming CEO's do except just that; decision making.
 

Pyrian

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So... They swapped out CEO's for a couple years, and then went back? What has Dan Conners been doing in the meantime? I feel like there is more to this story. I guess there always is.
 

distortedreality

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I hope this isn't the opening move of a potential buyout by someone - would hate to see telltale get fucked over.
 

tippy2k2

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shrekfan246 said:
The gaming community won't remember that.
(?) tippy2k2 will remember that

(Sorry, had to be done :D)

OT: On the plus side, it sounds like a mutual decision rather than the CEO getting ousted for blowing all the Telltale money on hookers and blow. I love me some Telltale (it's the only company where I will basically buy whatever they spit out blindly, though that's probably easier with these games since you basically know exactly what you're getting) and even their weaker entries like the Game of Thrones game I feel is at least good.

The only one I never looked at was the Minecraft one and that's just because I care so little for MC IP that I'm just not interested at all in it.
 

Neurotic Void Melody

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Telltale will never be the same without you. A true loss of creative force in the industry. Will we get updates on all employees leaving the company? I wouldn't want to miss somebody that makes an actual difference being taken off the team. Any excuse for a party really.
 

Saelune

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tippy2k2 said:
shrekfan246 said:
The gaming community won't remember that.
(?) tippy2k2 will remember that

(Sorry, had to be done :D)

OT: On the plus side, it sounds like a mutual decision rather than the CEO getting ousted for blowing all the Telltale money on hookers and blow. I love me some Telltale (it's the only company where I will basically buy whatever they spit out blindly, though that's probably easier with these games since you basically know exactly what you're getting) and even their weaker entries like the Game of Thrones game I feel is at least good.

The only one I never looked at was the Minecraft one and that's just because I care so little for MC IP that I'm just not interested at all in it.
Sounds either like "I kept your seat warm, here you go" or "I dont want all this responsibility, you do it".
 

Callate

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My suspicion is that someone took one for the team after a number of sub-par offerings- The most recent Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, and especially Batman (after all the relatively well-received Rocksteady offerings, that may have been a particularly bitter pill for TT to swallow.)

None of them have been flat failures, but the response to both the storytelling and the new engine has been far less enthusiastic than they've been receiving in the past. Nothing like an "under new management" sign to restore faith.

Or at least, in the case of ever-querulous gaming communities, to get them primed to be willing to consider faith again.
 

RJ 17

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The "newest and most exciting" challenge for TTG is to come up with a game format that isn't identical to the every game they've ever made. It was neat when they burst onto the scene with it, but then it just became taking licensed properties and stuffing them into the exact same mold.
 

Shadefyre

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shrekfan246 said:
The gaming community won't remember that.

Seriously though, for all of the importance I'm sure they have, CEOs of gaming companies really just kind of seem interchangeable.
Except when they're obnoxious and outspoken, like Randy Pitchford.
 

MCerberus

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They may have replaced their CEO, but the only thing that will change down the road is one line of dialog during the Fiscal 2018 profit report.