Other Telltale Games Closing Down

cm2

cm2

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So another studio is closing down after Capcom's Vancover Studio. Telltale Games, I read their tweet, another sad gaming news:
Telltale Games on Twitter
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I feel bad for all the people losing their jobs. At the same time though, I hope this kills episodic gaming as a whole. Episodic gaming is probably my least favorite video game scam. Just make a full game and release it at full price. It just irks me that they try to get more money by selling 5 games that tell a whole story.
 
Sad situation. To clarify though its not clear cut. I don't think the studio is closing, rather they'll be running VERY lean with just 25 people. They have a couple of projects to finish. One of them a project with Netflix using the Minecraft brand. They may or may not finished The Walking Dead S4. Projects such as The Wolf Among Us and Stranger Things aren't happening though. Will be hearing much more from this in the future I believe. Sad to see though, I enjoyed the games mostly even though they never really tried to improve and I think the episodic model was what caused the problems making a profit.
 
Read about Telltale Games' hellish working conditions:

It turns out actually working for Telltale Games isn’t all that inspiring. The Verge spoke to more than a dozen current and former Telltale employees, and the picture they paint is of a studio plagued by toxic management, chronic crunch culture, and a lack of ambition.

At the height of Telltale’s output, the crunch essentially never ended, with employees working 14 to 18-hour days, six days a week, for months on end. You finished working on one episode, and were immediately reassigned to the next. Employees didn’t even see much financial benefit for their hard work — Telltale salaries were below industry standards.

Telltale employees also paint an unflattering picture of company’s former CEO Kevin Bruner. A co-founder of the studio, Bruner came from a programming background, but reportedly fancied himself an auteur, getting involved in every aspect of Telltale’s games. According to those who worked with him, Bruner was abrasive, inflexible, and reluctant to give anybody credit following the success of The Walking Dead.
 
It's funny how people overseas think only Japan has this kind of work culture (basically only the so-called "black companies" have, but they actively go against the law any way).
Based on numbers I think American companies generally work way harder in comparison to here, and based on experience European companies generally work harder in comparison to here.
 
cm2 said:
Read about Telltale Games' hellish working conditions:

It turns out actually working for Telltale Games isn’t all that inspiring. The Verge spoke to more than a dozen current and former Telltale employees, and the picture they paint is of a studio plagued by toxic management, chronic crunch culture, and a lack of ambition.

At the height of Telltale’s output, the crunch essentially never ended, with employees working 14 to 18-hour days, six days a week, for months on end. You finished working on one episode, and were immediately reassigned to the next. Employees didn’t even see much financial benefit for their hard work — Telltale salaries were below industry standards.

Telltale employees also paint an unflattering picture of company’s former CEO Kevin Bruner. A co-founder of the studio, Bruner came from a programming background, but reportedly fancied himself an auteur, getting involved in every aspect of Telltale’s games. According to those who worked with him, Bruner was abrasive, inflexible, and reluctant to give anybody credit following the success of The Walking Dead.
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Ouch, I'm also reading that those let go are getting no severance pay and their benefits, little they have, is gone in about 8 days.
 
New update that the studio has talked to companies about funding for finishing off The Walking Dead season 4 and future projects maybe? They said nothing to report yet but they are in talks. Lots of angry people saying pay the staff forget the game. Class action lawsuit seems to have been filed also. A big mess.
 
IntoxNitram said:
New update that the studio has talked to companies about funding for finishing off The Walking Dead season 4 and future projects maybe? They said nothing to report yet but they are in talks. Lots of angry people saying pay the staff forget the game. Class action lawsuit seems to have been filed also. A big mess.
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That lawsuit is without a doubt will kill any games in production, which I'm perfectly fine with.
 
Its developing into a delicate situation with so many things happening all at the same time and all critical.
 
Hopefully, the workers can find new jobs, and the game series can continue on at other game companies who buy the rights for the games.
 
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