Telltale Games told some of the best stories in video games, but their own story just gets weirder and weirder every day. Following a sudden and unexpected closure last year all hope seemed lost for the continued success of not only their ongoing game The Walking Dead: The Final Season, but the developer as a whole. Soon after the announcement though, the game itself was saved by Skybound, and now the same may be true of the developer. There’s a lot to this story though, and not everything is totally clear so far. While Telltale may be back from the dead, it could be “in name only”.
The news first broke with Polygon who spoke to the two men that are bringing Telltale back. Jamie Ottilie and Brian Waddle never worked for or with Telltale before, so their involvement has caused many to be wary. They have said they are extending some offers to previous Telltale employees, though this seems to be in more of a freelance model rather than full employee status.
The end result should bring a smile to fans’ faces though as the two assure them that previously removed games would be making a comeback in some form. The rights for such games as The Wolf Among Us and both Batman titles were included in the sale, which took place as part of Telltale’s bankruptcy filing. And it seems that not just the old games are a part of the discussion with Ottilie saying “We’re still evaluating, but we definitely want to continue some of the stories.” However Telltale’s biggest profile series won’t be included with Skybound having reattained the full rights to The Walking Dead series.
Sequels and new releases are a possibility though with Ottilie explaining “This is a viable business that went away due to market conditions and some scale choices [Telltale’s previous management] made,” he said. “I like games that tell stories and I think our industry should have a company that specializes in narrative-driven games.” They do seem to already be avoiding some of the developer’s previous mistakes, saying they will remain small as they build a potential library or properties to work on in the future.
