Telltale Games Confirms Layoffs, In-Development Games Remain In Production

Jonah Huang, a former Telltale Games cinematic artists revealed today on Twitter that the studio laid him off in early September. He writes in his tweet that Telltale “layed most of us out early September” and that layoffs took place weeks after Flavourworks acquired the U.K. studio that developed Erica.

Telltale confirms that it is now a Telltale. Play Informer The official statement from Telltale does not specify how many staff were terminated. Telltale has released a statement. Game Informer Full: 

We regrettably let go some Telltale staff members recently due to market conditions. The decision was not taken lightly and we remain committed to the art of storytelling, as well as finding innovative ways to achieve this. Our gratitude goes out to all those who have contributed to this project and are helping to make it a success. “All projects that are currently under development remain in production and there is no more news at this time.” 

Play Informer asked Telltale how many employees it laid off, but was not able to receive specific numbers, departments affected, or further updates beyond the above statement on in-development projects. Huang, also known by the pseudonym J.H. According to the website of Telltale, “most” employees were laid off. 

These Telltale layoffs come years after the studio’s 2019 resurrection by new management. In 2018, the studio laid off 90 percent of its staff before eventually closing altogether later that year. Telltale’s four-season episodic The Walking Dead was its most popular game before it closed. Roughly a year after its closure, the company was purchased in 2019 by its now-CEO, Jamie Ottilie, and investors with the desire to bring the narrative-based studio back to life. 

The new Telltale appeared with a trailer at The Games Awards 2019 for its new take on The Wolf Among Us 2, a sequel that was reportedly in development at the previous iteration of the studio. Telltale’s last announcement about the title was in March when it announced that they would delay it from 2023 into 2019.

The Expanse: A Telltale Series is the game that was first released by this Telltale iteration. The first episode of The Expanse: A Telltale Series came out in July. Between July and September, all five of the episodes in this series were released. The Expanse: A Telltale Series has a Metacritic score of 76. 

Game Informer’s staff is concerned for everyone who has been affected by the layoffs, as well as those at the studio.