A former Telltale Games employee has confirmed the studio initiated major layoffs in September 2023, with “most” employees impacted. These layoffs are believed to be significant – and may change plans for upcoming, long-awaited narrative adventure game, The Wolf Among Us 2.
The news arrives courtesy of cinematic artist Jonah Huang, who recently took to Twitter to encourage game developers to unionise. “This is a sore subject, but I feel it necessary to add to the gaming layoff news: Telltale laid most of us off early September,” Huang said. “Status of TWAU2, I can’t say (NDA). Now, I focus on what matters to me – my own game, and the following words: Games industry, we must UNIONISE.”
According to Huang, he signed an agreement with Telltale not to harm its business as part of his severance package – but he is “legally allowed to speak on behalf of being laid off” as it’s a simple fact, rather than “an attempt to cause harm or ruination to the company”.
Read: The Wolf Among Us 2 has been delayed to 2024
Huang originally joined the current iteration of Telltale Games to work on The Wolf Among Us 2, as he was a fan of the original game. Per Huang, the team working on this game was “very small.” At this stage, it’s unclear how many staff have been impacted by these reported layoffs, and whether they will significantly alter plans for TWAU2.
Update 6/10: Since publication, Telltale Games has issued an official statement on the layoffs, via reporter and host Geoff Keighley.
“Due to current market conditions, we regrettably had to let some of our Telltale team go recently. We did not take this action lightly, and our commitment to storytelling and finding new ways to do so remains the same. We are grateful to everyone for their dedication along this journey, and we are working to support everyone impacted. All projects currently in development are still in production, and we have no further updates at this time.”
Notably, Telltale is a studio with a history of sudden layoffs. The original version of the company launched an array of narrative adventures to critical acclaim in the mid-2010s, including The Walker Dead, The Wolf Among Us, Tales from the Borderlands, and Batman: The Telltale Series among several others. But in 2018, the studio suddenly shuttered, with all staff laid off without warning.
Telltale Games was re-established in 2019 under new management, and with high hopes for a brand revival. That same year, The Wolf Among Us 2 was announced at The Game Awards – although the title was quickly hit with a range of delays due to engine changes, and other complications.
At this stage, the game is still planned to launch in 2024.
This article has been updated since its original publication.
