“Clementine!” – if you immediately thought about Telltale Game’s The Walking Dead, then you’re going to like this – or not depending on which side you’re on; I’ll explain.
The popular, controversial, and now, defunct video game developing company is reportedly being revived under a new ownership, they’ve bought the rights to use the Telltale name as well as a catalogue of back log games such as The Wolf Among Us and Batman – cause for celebration! Not really.
Image credit: Ars Technica
Before we continue, let’s understand what led to the downfall of the once beloved brand – over spending on licensing titles sucked up a lot of cash from the company’s bank accounts; with so many projects to work on and in an industry rife with competition and demanding consumers, Telltale saw fit to overwork their former employees – this led to a drop in quality, while certain titles had to be put in the back burner – ie: The Wolf Among Us.
Consumers and the media caught wind of the turmoil face by old Telltale, and pretty much everything controversial the owners did during their tenure were made public. Jobs were cut, licenses were reverted back, company: shut down.
Image credit: Telltale Games
Back to the story: Playing the role of saviour this time around is relatively unknown company LCG Entertainment; but a report by Polygon suggests that not all is well.
The report documents the irks of former Telltale employees about the company takeover, many voicing their scepticism over the LCG’s intent with the revival. It’s reported that from the group of ex-Telltale team, only a portion will be hired to spearhead the new company; the catch, however, is that they’re brought in on a freelance basis.
Image credit: Telltale Ganes
Episode lead writer Jessica Krause voiced her concerns over the possibility that freelance contracts won’t be sufficient for employees to earn a proper wage, especially in San Francisco, one of the more expensive parts of the USA.
Meanwhile, other employees have gone as far as to call for a boycott of any game released under this new Telltale.
Also another point of concern is whether or not the revival will be at all successful, since their most lucrative series, The Walking Dead, has concluded. Although mention of The Wolf Among Us could gather back some fanfare, there is doubt if developing licenced games is a viable option for a company in debt.
New Telltale is well, very new – so we’ll see how the new owners will steady the ship, if at all. I for one, will be looking to new episodes of The Wolf Among Us.
