There's no doubt that the folks over at Telltale Games have been very busy the last few years, as we've seen games such as The Walking Dead, The Wolf Among Us, Game of Thrones, Tales from the Borderlands, Batman, and Guardians of the Galaxy all come from the studio over a fairly short period of time. Many players feel that this is one of the reasons why many of the studio's games have featured bugs and other issues, which is why some have hoped the studio would take a break to make some much-needed upgrades to their game engine.
It seems like they're about to do just this, but not without bringing us some bad news at the same time, as the company has announced that they're laying off 90 people (approximately a quarter of the studio) as they try to evolve with the industry in general. Here's what Pete Hawley, the studio's CEO, had to say:
"Our industry has shifted in tremendous ways over the past few years. The realities of the environment we face moving forward demand we evolve, as well, reorienting our organization with a focus on delivering fewer, better games with a smaller team."
That's not the only thing affected by this restructuring, as they're also planning to move internal development over to "more proven technologies" that will fast-track innovation in their products, while also working with new partners to bring their games to "new audiences."
So this is definitely a good news/bad news situation. We're glad to hear that the studio will finally start focusing on quality over quantity again, and that it seems like they're going to make some real changes to the technology in their games. At the same time, it's sad to hear that this also means that 90 talented developers will have to look for work elsewhere. We wish them all the very best in the future, and that this move raises the bar for what Telltale Games can do.
What do you think of this move?
