Earlier at this time, former Telltale Video games cinematic artist Jonah Huang revealed on <a href="https://x.com/jjonahjonahson/standing/1709979363608039784?s=20" goal="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a> that he had been laid off from the studio in early September. In his tweet, he writes that "Telltale laid most of us off in early September," and that the layoffs occurred weeks after the corporate acquired U.Okay.-based studio, Flavourworks, which developed <a href="https://www.gameinformer.com/b/information/archive/2017/10/30/erica-is-a-new-ps4-exclusive-adventure.aspx" goal="_blank" rel="noopener">Erica</a>.
It is a sore topic, however I really feel it essential so as to add to the gaming layoff information: Telltale laid most of us off early September. Standing of TWAU2, I can’t say (NDA).
Now, I concentrate on what issues to me—my very own recreation, and the next phrases:
Video games business, we should UNIONIZE.
1/5
— jjonahjonahson (@jjonahjonahson) October 5, 2023
Telltale has now confirmed to Sport Informer that layoffs on the studio did happen, though its official assertion options no point out of simply what number of staff have been let go. The assertion doesn’t point out severance for laid-off staff, however Huang notes on Twitter that he’s obtained a severance bundle.
Right here’s Telltale’s assertion to Sport Informer, in full:
“On account of present market circumstances, we regrettably needed to let a few of our Telltale workforce go lately. We didn’t take this motion calmly, and our dedication to storytelling and discovering new methods to take action stays the identical. We’re grateful to everybody for his or her dedication alongside this journey, and we’re working to assist everybody impacted. All tasks at present in improvement are nonetheless in manufacturing, and we’ve got no additional updates at the moment.”
Sport Informer requested Telltale what number of staff it laid off, however was not in a position to obtain particular numbers, departments affected, or additional updates past the above assertion on in-development tasks. Nevertheless, as beforehand famous, Huang, who goes by J.H. based on their web site, says Telltale laid “most of us off.”
These Telltale layoffs come years after the studio’s 2019 resurrection by new administration. In 2018, the studio laid off 90 p.c of its employees earlier than ultimately closing altogether later that yr. Pre-closure, Telltale was maybe greatest recognized for its four-season, episodic recreation, The Strolling Useless. Roughly a yr after its closure, the corporate was bought in 2019 by its now-CEO, Jamie Ottilie, and traders with the will to carry the narrative-based studio again to life.
The brand new Telltale appeared with a trailer at The Video games Awards 2019 for its new take on The Wolf Amongst Us 2, a sequel that was reportedly in improvement on the earlier iteration of the studio. The final we heard of that recreation was again in March, when Telltale revealed it was delaying it out of 2023 and into subsequent yr.
Whereas The Wolf Amongst Us 2 was the primary recreation this new iteration of Telltale confirmed off, its first recreation is definitely The Expanse: A Telltale Sequence, which it revealed and developed alongside Deck 9, with its first episode launched again in July. All 5 of its episodes have been launched between July and September. The Expanse: A Telltale Sequence at present sits at a 76 on Metacritic.
The hearts of the Sport Informer employees are with everybody affected by these layoffs and people nonetheless on the studio.
[Editor’s Note: This story has been updated with a new image to reflect Telltale Games’ most recent logo, and to include mention that Huang received severenace]
Supply: Sport Informer
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