It looks like the video game company layoffs aren’t coming to an end soon. Telltale Games is the latest studio to initiate job cuts citing unfavorable market conditions.
The layoffs started circulating online when Jonah Huang, a cinematic artist at the studio, shared tweets claiming that the studio had let go “most” of its staff in September. The developer shared that he could not comment on the status of The Wolf Among Us 2 as he was under a non-disclosure agreement.
“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. Status of TWAU2, I can’t say (NDA),” Huang tweeted. “Now, I focus on what matters to me—my own game, and the following words: Games industry, we must UNIONIZE.”
On that subject, the IATSE has a Twitch livestream every Thursday to discuss videogame unionization efforts and topics relating to it.
I will be attending at 4 PT today (!!) to talk about layoffs & to learn how unions can mitigate their effects: https://t.co/qqmpeQGB1j
2/5
— jjonahjonahson (@jjonahjonahson) October 5, 2023
It is the second time that Huang has been let go by Telltale Games. In 2018, the artist was also with Telltale Games when the studio let go of a majority of its employees, leaving a skeleton crew before totally shutting down on October 11 in the same year. Five years later, Huang finds himself in a similar situation but shares that he got a better deal this time: “Telltale gave me a good deal this time around, but still, it ended the same way most jobs in games end: a layoff, not a retirement. I ask my fellow game devs to fight for better.”
In a statement to IGN, Telltale Games confirmed the job cuts at the studio. The developer cited the uncertain market conditions as the reason for the layoffs. However, the studio said that the move does not impact the development of its upcoming projects.
“Due to current market conditions, we regrettably had to let some of our Telltale team go recently,” the studio said. “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.”
Early this year, Telltale Games announced that it was delaying the release of The Wolf Among Us 2. The studio said that it is moving the game from Unreal Engine 4 to 5. Company CEO Jamie Ottilie also shared that it opted to push the game to a later date to avoid burnout or shipping an unfinished title.
There’s been a spate of layoffs in the gaming industry. Embracer Group let go of employees from Beamdog and Crystal Dynamics in recent weeks. The gaming publisher also closed down Volition as a part of the corporate restructuring after a failed $2 billion deal with Savvy Games Group.
