With the second episode of The Walking Dead: The Final Season debuting today, many fans will be wondering what Telltale’s closure by any other name means for the remaining two episodes. With the workforce down to just 25, it’s up in the air, though the outlook is bleak.
However, Telltale have offered a glimmer of hope for the rest of The Walking Dead: The Final Season, though they had to assure fans that a revival is not a certainty.
— Telltale Games (@telltalegames) September 24, 2018
“Multiple potential partners have stepped forward to express interest in helping to see The Final Season through to completion. While we can’t make any promises today, we are actively working towards a solution that will allow episodes three and four to be completed and released in some form. In the meantime, episode two will release tomorrow across all platforms as planned. We hope to have answers for your other questions soon.”
While it’s good that they are trying to remedy a terrible situation and deliver a product that players paid for in advance, it probably should not be their priority. Roughly 250 people have lost their jobs as a result of Telltale’s effective wind-down, all without severance pay. God of War director Cory Barlog was quick to point this out.
I would hope this means that you will first pay your entire team their severance, and then proceed to finish the final episodes. I would be fine waiting however long it took to ensure we first treated those who worked so hard with the humanity and respect they deserve.❤️
— cory barlog (@corybarlog) September 25, 2018
To examine the language of Telltale’s tweet, releasing the episodes in “some form” does not seem to suggest that they will be what they should have been, all things being well. They might be missing some gloss or considerably more basic than what they were intended to be, as well as part-developed by a third-party that doesn’t really understand the series as much as those who created it.
There’s also the question of how exactly they’re going to pay for outside support. There are very few developers versed in narrative-based games and even fewer who would have the time or resources to allocate to a rescue mission. Dontnod and Big Bad Wolf spring to mind, but with Life Is Strange 2 for the former and The Council for the latter in the works, it’s tricky to see where they would be able to squeeze it in.
Really, if Telltale wanted to do the right thing, they’d put The Walking Dead: The Final Season on ice and put any money they have towards paying some of the severance pay. It’s a terrible situation for fans, though while we may be out of $20, many talented people who deserve better are out of work with families to feed.
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