Telltale Games is back from the grave, but The Walking Dead isn’t coming with it

Telltale Games is back in business, with the remainder of its assets having been purchased by LCG Entertainment following the company’s bankruptcy. 

The developer was shut down earlier this year after failing to accrue investments following major financial trouble. This resulted in the loss of hundreds of jobs across the studio, many of which had moved across the United States to take such positions. 

While this new development won’t repair the scars that previous events had caused, it does spell a somewhat positive future for the minds behind The Walking Dead, Wolf Among Us and many other licensed properties in the Telltale mould. 

This new vision of Telltale Games will be helmed by Jamie Ottilie and Brian Waddle, both of which have experience in the gaming sector, particularly in the mobile market, making Telltale Games an unusual venture for the duo. 

Speaking in an interview with Polygon, Ottilie confirmed that properties such as Batman and The Wolf Among Us remain with Telltale, as do several of the company’s original properties including Puzzle Agent. As for expired licenses, those are being looked at in some regard. 

“We’re still evaluating, but we definitely want to continue some of the stories,” Ottilie said concerning some narratives that Telltale Games were unable to conclude before its closure. As for The Walking Dead, that property is now owned by Skybound, who has its own plans for future releases. The rights of Stranger Things have also reverted back to Netflix. 

In terms of employment, this new version of Telltale Games has said that past employees will be offered freelance positions to assist with projects, with the potential of full-time jobs emerging in the future. Given how many people were laid off, this feels a little off in our opinion. 

“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.”

So, Telltale Games has a new CEO, new employees and a new vision for the future. One of the only constants is the existing library of titles residing in its catalogue. We’re curious to see what the studio produces going forward, and if will be a major shift from what we’ve seen before.